DEAD SEA, JORDAN // The crown prince of Jordan, Hussein bin Abdullah, said youth in the region find themselves in a “vast sea of change”, but are caught between the currents of extremism and modernity.
Speaking at the opening plenary of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa at the Dead Sea in Jordan, Prince Hussein said: “On one side is a treacherous tide, luring our youth toward a dark reality – one that sinks us deeper into violence, intolerance and regression through the corrosive power of an extremist ideology.
“The other [is] transporting us to sunnier shores where moderation sees our Muslim and Arab identities at peace with modernity and progress. A reality where we can be productive and positive contributors to the world around us.”
The 22-year-old crown prince said Arab youth were “not drifters” and the choice of which tide to take was theirs to make. However, what they want is “a chance to be heard, a chance to make a difference”.
“What is unique to Arab youth is a yearning and thirst that I have not seen anywhere else. Perhaps that’s because our dire circumstances make us cling more tightly to hope. Young people in our region are the heaviest users of social media and the internet,” Prince Hussein said.
He said Jordan had a generation of young entrepreneurs who were “spearheading innovation and change” through new technology businesses. But they needed moral and financial support to “create their own impact”.
Other leaders addressing the forum included King Felipe VI of Spain and the president of Iraq.
King Felipe said Spain had overcome the worst of its recent economic crisis and was ready to strengthen its cooperation with Middle East partners “in the quest for a better future for the region and the whole of humanity”.
He said security was “a shared or common need” among sovereign governments.
“We cannot isolate the threats or the challenges we face. Nor can we deal with them on our own, since they are more pervasive and agile than ever, travel faster and ignore national or regional boundaries.”
However, shared prosperity should be pursued in tandem, he said.
Fuad Masum, the president of Iraq, said he hoped the next few days would bring “the complete liberation of Mosul and the last stronghold of Daesh in Iraq”.
“As we hope to turn the page of Daesh completely during this year, Iraqis still need to work diligently and confidently as of now to achieve success in the battle for reconstruction – a battle that is no less difficult or complicated than the war on terror.”
Mr Masum said priority would be given to the repatriation of the displaced and the reconstruction of liberated areas “where all aspects of life have been almost completely destroyed”.
He called on private sector firms to take part in rebuilding the country, saying it was “open to all investors who wish to contribute to the process”.
mfahy@thenational.ae
