The Gulf crisis topped the sessions of 6th Doha Forum for Policies and Strategies which opened here yesterday.
The two-day event is organised by the Centre for Strategic Studies of the Armed Forces in collaboration with the Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies.
The forum, held under the patronage of HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah, brings together experts, thinkers and decision-makers, as well as representatives of international organisations and non-governmental organisations to discuss various current issues, through sessions addressing the challenges and issues in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of backing terrorism, a charge which Doha denies.
In his speech at the opening session of the forum, Major General Dr Hamad Mohamed al-Marri, Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies, said the Gulf crisis is one of the most important issues of this forum, describing it as a shock to everyone, including politicians, analysts or experts, stressing that it has a great negative impact on the GCC countries.
He said that the stable image of the Gulf states for decades has been shaken.
Since the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) emerged as a collective force that could fill the strategic vacuum in the region after the Arab revolutions and managed to lead the joint Arab action on many issues, “the signs of the Gulf crisis, which brought us to what we are now, have emerged, causing great concern for the stability of the Gulf states and the Arab nation.”
Referring to the mediation by the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, he said that despite the difficulties and obstacles encountered by him, the emir of Kuwait has made strenuous efforts to resolve the crisis and efforts have been appreciated by all.” He pointed out that the Kuwaiti mediation has received widespread regional and international support.
Al-Marri noted that this crisis has repercussions on the strategic, economic and social level, in addition to regional and international alliances.
This crisis has reached the social side and involved people, breaking family bonds.
Moving to other issues, al-Marri said that stability in the Middle East is at a critical stage threatening the coexistence of people of the region’s countries with their various ethnic and religious components.
He said that the crises that have been raging for years have turned the Middle East into a major humanitarian crisis that calls for urgent action with the spirit of international responsibility to work towards settling these conflicts and ensuring the return of the displaced and refugees to their countries, cities and villages.
He noted that there are intellectual transformations at the political, economic and military levels, that should not to go unnoticed by centres of strategic studies, experts and intellectuals, adding that “at the political level there is a rise of right-wing political currents in Europe, Latin America and Asia. On the economic level, there is a retreat from the global trend based on freedom of trade and globalisation.
On the military level, there are theoretical theses and new practical experiences that occurred at the level of the doctrine of armies and fighting methods, training and arming, to confront the new patterns of wars, and these changes will be reflected on many of the global policies in the coming period, he said.
Dr al-Marri added that Al-Aqsa Mosque, the second of the two holy sites, has been subjected to repeated attacks. It has faced attempts to obliterate its Islamic identity. Al-Marri also referred to the fate of Al-Quds Al-Sharif after the recent developments (Trump’s decision to transfer Washington’s embassy to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel). This move will be the focus of this year’s forum because of its importance to Muslims and people of other faiths in addition to its political, religious, historical and strategic dimensions.
All peace-loving countries, organisations and figures have been urged to work to end conflicts in the Middle East, particularly the Gulf crisis, he noted, adding: “Achieving security for the people of the region and restoring the spirit and values of coexistence and respect for others is an urgent requirement for all. Security is a great value and blessing that deserves the effort, co-operation and co-ordination among us for a better future for our countries and peoples”, al Marri stressed.
In the first session titled “The Implications of the Gulf Crisis and its Future Prospects”, the speakers pointed out that the siege imposed on Qatar and the region’s crises will result in serious consequences and difficult economic, political and social dimensions, which will have significant negative future effects that are currently unseen.
The speakers explained that the crises cannot be dealt with politically and legally only because they leave untouched the effects, stressing that the parties ought to reduce these effects, valuing the role of Qatar in dealing with this aspect by adopting a moderate line. In addition Qatar has opened its doors to all the citizens of the countries of the siege without discrimination.
The participants also pointed to the importance of the expansion of Qatar in the gas-related industries such as iron, aluminium and petrochemicals and they stressed the need to work to achieve complete independence from regional alliances and work to establish new alliances with regional forces.
The speakers expressed their gratitude for increasing the political and popular awareness and belief that the crisis is a problem within the GCC and does not affect the common Gulf future.
They also revealed that before the crisis, the siege countries created thousands of fictitious accounts, or “electronic flies” on social media to use them to tweet and re-tweet to create a false opinion on the platforms of social media against Qatar.
In their address on the future of the Kuwaiti mediation, the speakers said that the continuation of the GCC is an important strategic priority for Kuwait as a source of collective security for the Gulf, and valued the remarkable activity of the Kuwaiti mediator and his shuttle visits to the parties of the crisis to make a convergence of views possible.
The speakers condemned the media campaigns against Qatar in order to raise hatred between the parties and the use of Centres of Western Studies in the crisis, stressing that the Gulf states and their people have no desire to damage the GCC as its survival is of interest to all.
The second session, entitled “New Alignments in the Middle East,” discussed the competition over ports and their impact on the Middle East crises as well as the map of alliances on the Syrian arena and regional and international interventions and conflicts of international influence in the Horn of Africa.
The third session, entitled “Military Challenges in the Middle East,” discussed the future of the regular armies and their challenges, terrorist groups and the security threats in the context of armed conflicts.
Major General Dr Hamad Mohamed al-Marri, Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies, addressing the opening session. Right: A panel discussion in progress at the opening session. PICTURES: Shaji Kayamkulam
