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AGCC ministers to discuss regional security, stability

ABU DHABI - A galaxy of high profile Arab ministers, diplomats, intellectuals, including a former British prime minister and Retd US General will attend the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies Research's (ECSSR) three-day ninth annual conference on "The Gulf - Challenges of the Future" scheduled to be held in the capital from January 11 to 13 at the Inter-Continental.

Dr Ali G. Al Ari, head of Conferences Department at the centre, told a Press conference on Monday that the conference would discuss issues covered by the ECSSR in its previous conferences.

Prominent among visiting dignitaries, who would be speaking on related issues, include Shaikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani, First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar, Dr Shaikh Mohammed Sabah Al Salem Al Sabah, Foreign Minister of Kuwait, Kamal Al Kilani, Minister of Finance, Iraq Governing Council, Mohammed Ali Abathi, Vice-President for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Iran, Prince Turki Al Faisal bin Abdulaziz, Saudi ambassador to the UK, Former British Prime Minister John Major, Retd General Anthony Zinni of the US and ambassador Martin Indyk of Brookings Institution USA.

The keynote address will be delivered by Lt. Gen. Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chief of Staff of the UAE Armed Forces and the President of the ECSSR.

Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Information Minister, Ahmad H. Al Tayer, Minister for Transport and Acting Minister for Public Works & Housing, Mohammed Al Murr, Chairman Dubai Cultural Council, Dr Abdullah J. Al Hajj, UAE Ambassador to the US, Dr Anwar Gargash, Board Member, Emirates Media, Ibrahim Al Abed, Director Emirates News Agency (Wam), Major-General Khalid Abdullah M Al Buainian and Major General Mohammed Hilal S. Al Kaabi from the GHQ UAE Armed Forces, are some of the speakers from the UAE. Dr Jamal. S. Al Suwaidi, Director of the ECSSR, in his welcome remarks, said that the conference would be dealing with important issues that confront the Arabian Gulf countries at a crucial time when several internal and external changes and developments were taking place in the region, that have direct or indirect impacts on the future of the region.

"Recent events in two neighbouring countries - Iraq and Iran - are of particular relevance and importance to the AGCC especially in terms of regional security and stability and the conference will be dealing with it," he said.

Prominent women intellectuals from Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE will present about 25 papers during the three-day conference including three papers on Women’s role and challenges in the Gulf. Two papers will be presented on the role of media in the Gulf on the closing day of the conference. Ibrahim Al Abed, Director of Wam, will chair the session, where Jamal Khashoggi, Media Adviser, Saudi Embassy, UK, will present a paper on "The evolving role of media in the Gulf: Privatisation, competition, censorship."

All the sessions will be followed by open discussions.

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