The 11th Enriching the Middle East’s Economic Future Conference concluded in Doha yesterday.
Addressing the closing session, HE the Assistant Foreign Minister for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad al-Meraikhi said since its inception, the conference has focussed on the economic aspect of the Middle East and Asia region, aiming at developing concepts, solutions and initiatives for the region’s economies and relating developments in the future.
The three-day event comprising meetings and workshops discussed many important issues including repercussions of falling oil prices on the region’s economies and their impact on opportunities for economic growth, the impact of changing geopolitical alliances on the political stability in the region along with the European, US and Russian presence in the Middle East and its implications on the economic, political and security conditions in the region, he explained
The sessions and workshops played a major role in shaping the visions and ideas that meet the aspirations of the people, he said, referring to the various issues and topics being discussed such as women’s opportunities in the Middle East economies, the issue of refugees in the region and Europe, its effects and consequences, job creation in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), impact of the ISIS group on the regional economy which was obvious in Syria and Iraq through the control of oil fields and use of their revenues to finance the group and its military plans.
The participants’ proposals and discourses over three days dealt with topics of interest to everyone, he said, stressing the joint consensus that the challenges faced by the countries of the world, and the Middle East in particular, pose multiple threats to international security, economic stability and development projects.
HE al-Meraikhi stressed the consensus and sincere desire to work to develop a common vision to address decisively the problems and crises arising from such a situation.
He expressed hope that the ideas and visions raised during the conference would be useful for the region to achieve development, prosperity and stability for a better future.