The 16th Doha Forum held under the theme ‘Stability and Prosperity for All’ concluded here yesterday in the presence of high-level regional and international participants.
The three-day event discussed means of achieving regional stability and global prosperity in light of the major global challenges in the areas of defence, security, economy, energy and civil society’s issues.
Addressing the closing session, Assistant Foreign Minister for Foreign Affairs, HE Sultan bin Saad al-Meraikhi, praised the valuable and rich contribution made by all participants during the discussions held over the three days.
The Forum’s sessions dealt with global security, the Middle East security, energy, economy, the sustainable development agenda and the civil society, al-Meraikhi said, lauding the rich discussions in which a number of senior global leaders, politicians and experts took part.
The sessions highlighted all participants’ keenness to address these issues, exchange ideas and visions and propose solutions to meet the political and economic challenges and enhance collective co-operation to make our world safer and more stable, he said.
Al-Meraikhi highly appreciated the theses and ideas presented, particularly with regard to containing security deterioration, escalation of terrorism, armed conflicts in different parts of the world, the deterioration of oil prices and emphasising teamwork aimed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The closing session of the conference saw a presentation of the most important ideas and proposals put forward during the plenary and special sessions.
A large number of heads of state and governments, ministers, politicians, decision-makers, businessmen and civil society activists from around the world took part in the 16th edition of the Doha Forum.
HE Dr Hassan bin Ibrahim al-Mohannadi, Director of the Diplomatic Institute at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who moderated the closing session, hailed the broad and active participation in this event which has enriched the debates on critical issues discussed during the sessions hosted by the Doha Forum.
The final session of the 16th Doha Forum comprised presentations summarising the Forum’s activities.
Qatari economic expert Ahmed Abdullah al-Kuwari presented a summary of the session on ‘Realising the international agenda of sustainable development in light of the current global economic conditions’, pointing to the presentations of the Greek representative who focused on his country’s experience in dealing with refugees and the financial crisis and the Korean representative who addressed the issue of slow international growth and the need to carry out long-term economic reforms.
Al-Kuwari also presented a summary to the ‘international economy’ session, in which the speakers were HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed al-Thani, and for candidates for the position of UN Secretary-General.
He said that speakers were unanimous in this session on several points, which can be summed up in that there are economic challenges facing all countries in the world, such as the collapse of oil prices for the producing countries and those that are dealing with this essential resource.
He pointed out that the intervention of the HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce also addressed the decline in oil prices and its impact on both the global economy and producing countries, focusing on the need to tackle these challenges through economic blocs.
In the specialised plenary entitled “Gulf security” participants agreed that dialogue is the best way to bring about security and peace in the Middle East.
In the ‘Middle East’ session, participants stressed that the region is still far from being stable, let alone from prospering.
They also stressed that access the role of the United Nations in resolving disputes is limited to being a facilitator.
The summary of the special session of  ‘Civil society and its role in achieving partnership in development’ noted the participation of civil society in this Forum, and stressed the need to involve all segments of society in bringing about the desired homogeneity in the community to prevent tensions.
In her speech CEO of Qatar Social Work Foundation, Amal Abdullatif al-Mannai, stressed the importance of involving civil society in the development agenda as a key partner for both the government and private sector.
She praised the Qatari experience in dealing with civil society organisations and paving the way for them to serve various segments of society.
Speakers in the Civil Society session included secretary general of Sultan Qaboos Centre for Culture and Sciences Habib bin Mohamed al-Rayami, who addressed the importance of involving civil society organisations in the process of building communities.
Dean of Hubert H Humphrey School of Public Affairs Eric Schwartz also spoke about the relationship between civil society organisations and governments, pointing out that the well-being of communities is based mainly on the existence of an active and effective civil society able to push governments to re-examine economic, social and development policies.