Doha Forum to discuss political and economic issues

DOHA- Three-day Doha Forum and Enriching The Middle East’s Economic Future Conference will kick off on Monday(May 12th). HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani will patronize its opening ceremony tomorrow at Ritz Carlton Hotel. 

HE Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani will address its opening session which will be held under the theme perspectives of global strategic, economic and developmental stability. 

HE Foreign Minister Dr Khalid Bin Mohammed Al Attiyah will deliver a welcoming speech during the opening session of the conference which will feature a wide-raging participation from some Heads of State and Government, distinguished opinion leaders, eminent political thinkers, decisionmakers and members of parliament, renowned businessmen, academics, media figures and international organizations. 

The 14th edition of Doha Forum, which coincides with Enriching The Middle East’s Economic Future Conference, has become one of the leading global forums on international contemporary affairs. 

The Forum will offer a sweeping overview of issues regarding Democracy, Development and Free Trade in the Middle-East, the Arab countries and the world. More broadly, this international meeting will discuss critical political, economic, social, financial, strategic and human matters. 

Other speakers in the opening session include Vice President of Argentina Amado Boudou, Assistant President of the Republic of Sudan Abdel Rahman ElSadig ElMahdi, Former President of the Republic of Albania Rexhep Qemal Meidani, and Former Prime Minister of France Dominique de Villepin. 

Among the sessions to be held on the second day of the Forum is one on ‘Democracy – Building After the Change’ with speakers focusing on topics related to ‘Building democracy: the system of values and community organizations’; ‘Countries in transition – to achieve the challenge of change’; “Political Islam in power: the challenges of participation and decision-making’; ‘Threats to move to a democratic world: The concept of power and authority’; ‘Enhancing the presence of women in politics’; and ‘The rights of minorities in light of political changes’. 

Another session will be held by Qatar National Human Rights Committee in cooperation with Qatar’s Foreign Ministry and will be moderated by NHRC Chairman Dr Ali Bin Smeikh Al Marri. 
Held under the theme ‘Human Security in Light of Conflicts and Crises’, the session will discuss ‘Problems of Humanitarian intervention and relief in armed conflicts: Syria as a model’; ‘United Nations Strategy and Programs in the field of Human Security’; Post-conflict National reconciliation and Transitional justice from the perspective of Human Security’; and ‘The Future of Human Security in the Arab Region in light of the new Challenges’. 

The third session of the forum’s second day will be held under the theme of “Development: The Impact of Energy” and will be moderated by Rima Khalaf, under secretary-general and executive secretary of the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). 

The session will discuss the future of Asian economies and energy, the economic barometers of political stability in Europe, Africa’s natural resources, liquidity and development in the future, expected growth in light of the Arab Spring, and the final reports of the Millennium Development Goals. 

The fourth session tackles regional stability and will be moderated by Michael O’Neill, assistant administrator and director of the UNDP’s bureau of external relations and advocacy. 
Amongst the issues to be discussed in the session is regional stability, the role of states in security arrangements, and regional cooperation; extremist religious and sectarian conflicts and the future; new policies in the Middle East in light of the decline of democracy; the growth of anti-reform coalitions; the role of the great powers in resolving regional conflicts with special focus on Syria; and the declining role of the Security Council in resolving internal conflicts. 

Speakers of this session are Lapo Pistelli, Italian deputy minister of foreign affairs, Dr. Ali Mohamed Fakhro, Bahraini politician and thinker; Mario David, member of the European Parliament; Alistair Burt, British MP and former parliamentary under secretary of state at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Prof. Tuomo Melasuo of Finland-based Tampere Peace Research Institute at Tampere University. 

Economy and free trade is the theme of the fifth and last session of the forum’s second day as it focuses on the reality of the global economy in a discussion that will be run by Einar Gunnarsson, permanent secretary of state at Iceland’s foreign ministry. 

The session will tackle the issues of the 2013-14 global financial crisis: assessing the performance of the affected economies; the need for banking reforms: transparency, accountability, and social responsibility; the role of modern technologies in the economy: the pros and cons and ways to exploit the pros to serve the public good; political barriers between developed and emerging economies; labor markets, policies, and their impact on the economy: the associated challenges; global energy security: the search for renewable energy resources; and the impact of the new hydrocarbon wealth.

On Wednesday, the third and last day of the forum, two more sessions will be held. The sixth session will have the theme of “Media: What Fourth Power of the Digital Media?” and will be moderated by Dr. Mahmoud Galander, Qatar University’s Mass Communication Department. 
This session will discuss the impact of the digital world on the change in the means of social communication, the role of media in creating stability or political chaos, the media in the service of politics with a special focus on the Middle East, and renewed economic, political and sports media. 

As for the seventh and last session of the forum, it will be entitled “Societal Transformations in the Middle East.” The session will discuss the themes of youth and the role of modern thought in guiding reformist ideas among the young, women: absolute freedom or maintaining traditions?, community: Any family components of the tribal future in the Arab world?, the impact of the national job market in the Gulf, security state and the democratic people’s state and the impact of the new elites. 

Meanwhile, Enriching the Middle East’s Economic Future Conference will discuss the themes of building job-creating economies in the Gulf, a new pattern of economics and development in the region and across the globe, and the Middle East’s pivot to Asia. 

Additionally, the conference will tackle the global economic scene, funding small- and medium-sized businesses, and entrepreneurship ecosystems in the Arab world. 
RAND Palestine Initiative will hold a session on the sidelines of the conference discussing the cost of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while other participants will review the topics of social entrepreneurship and innovative approaches to job creation.-QNA