BEIRUT: The head of the Future parliamentary bloc and former Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora took part in the sixth Gulf Intelligence UAE Energy Forum Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
“Here is one important lesson that I have learned, and a principle that I have always applied: at times of high volatility, go back to the basics,” Siniora said.
“In order to unlock the potential of the Arab world,” he added, it is imperative “to find a just and lasting solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict through the establishment of a viable, unified and sovereign Palestinian state along [the lines of] the Arab peace initiative.”
During the event, he delivered a keynote speech themed “Outlook for the Middle East four years on from the Arab Spring.”
Held at the Rosewood Hotel in Abu Dhabi under the patronage of UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohammad al-Mazrouei, the forum brought together national and international energy officials and world leaders to debate issues impacting the global energy industry.
“Only moderate Arabs and Muslims can ultimately defeat the forces of extremism in the region,” he said. “And only the democratic civil state can be the real guarantor of minorities’ existence and rights.”
“As much as ISIS falsely claims to be championing Sunnis, it does not in any way represent Islam, and Muslims are the biggest losers of its atrocities,” he said.
The only way to guarantee Arab security at all levels in the long run, according to Siniora, is to develop a “vision of Arab economic integration that is based on shared interests and objectives, and not on empty slogans.”
“We should not shy away from planning and achieving our long-term interests as Arabs,” he said, “and we should never lose faith that better days are yet to come.”
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