Chairman of Shura’s Foreign Affairs, Defense and National Security Committee, Dr. Shaikh Khalid Bin Khalifa Al Khalifa stressed the importance of holding the conference “Conflict and Competition in the Arabian Gulf Region,” held in Bahrain, which its events kicked off today and last till tomorrow Monday, with a participation of an elite of experts, and strategic analysts on both regional and international levels.
After participating in the conference today, Dr. Shaikh Khalid stated that the variables experienced by the region reinforce that the coverts and delicate conditions in the Gulf region are no longer a secret issue, and the parties of conflict and competition in the Arabian Gulf Region are no longer confined to states, but they included the active powers outside the framework of states.
Dr. Shaikh Khalid highlighted that most of the dangers threatening the region have become international, and said that the conference was exerting great efforts to form the outline of an integrated Gulf futuristic strategy to address the current regional and international challenges resulting from the state of conflict and rivalry.
The Chairman of the Shura Foreign Affairs Committee also said that the Arabian Gulf Region is considered one of the most strategic areas in the whole world in the light of the absence of the defined boundaries between the internal, regional and world security levels.
Dr. Shaikh Khalid linked between the issues related to the current events and their reflection on the region including the security arrangements between the United States and Britain in the light of the Iranian ambitious crisis connected with its nuclear programme and its impact on the international level in general, and on the GCC states in particular. He also pointed out the political tensions in the region, especially what is concerned with Syria, Iraq, Yemen in addition to the issues of political Islam in the light of the rise of some it its movements coinciding with the events witnessed by the Arab World.
Dr. Shaikh Khalid expressed his confidence that the final session of the conference would result in recommendations and decisions related to the need for the protection of the Arab identity from the Iranian invasion that is threatening the Arab region, especially the Arabian Gulf.
Dr. Shaikh Khalid ended his statement praising the efforts of Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies in organizing and holding valuable conferences that present benefit to participants by hosting thinkers and professors specialized and experienced in the issues for discussion in the conference.