Business & Money | Saturday 17 December, 2016 4:52 am |

Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg, assistant secretary-general for foreign affairs at the Gulf Cooperation Council, told a gathering of GCC government leaders and academics at the Arab Thought Foundation’s FIKR15 conference that the GCC is working on economic and developmental principles from scratch that have expanded with infrastructural developments.
He said that the most important aspect for GCC leaders to consider is to continue maintaining security and to support the Arab identity, as well as empowering the interests of the region’s populations on the developmental level.
The Arab Thought Foundation concluded Thursday the annual FIKR15 conference held in partnership with the Arab League at the St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort.
The conference gathered leading regional officials, policymakers and academics to discuss issues and challenges currently facing the Arab world. The theme of Arab integration continues from FIKR14, held in Shikrat, Morocco.
Following a series of panel discussion, the Arab Thought Foundation announced it is committed to focusing on the relationship between the media and scientific research, economic and political issues, Arab integration and social knowledge throughout 2017.
Speaking at the plenary session, Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, president of the Arab Thought Foundation, said: “We have heard the views and opinions raised here, but it will take decades until we see the direct effects on the ground. What we see today is a new feature of the Arab renaissance that we are seeking, which emphasizes that we were on the right track when we established the foundation.”
“We see nowadays that there is a rapid response to the ideas of intellectual politicians, and I believe that this is a landmark feature of the change happening throughout the Arab world, Prince Khaled said.
The last day of the conference included a panel session led by Director General of the Arab Thought Foundation Henri Awit, who said: “In all areas of the report, it was important to highlight the cultural initiatives and institutions in each country. However, the report does not focus only on the local level, as we were keen to highlight the cultural scene across the GCC region.”
Similarly, Hassan Madan, former head of studies at the Department of Culture and Information in Sharjah, said: “I prefer to talk about an Arab culture in the Gulf countries, rather than a Gulf culture. Governments have accomplished a great deal across different cultural fields. However, the distinguished characteristic of creative cultural spaces also must be taken into account.”
Results of the interactive session were presented by Mohammed Abu Shaqra of the Paris Institute of Political Studies, who said that 192 delegates participated in 23 working groups, delivering a total of 89 questions for discussion.
Summarizing the findings of the interactive session, Abu Shaqra said: “Trust is the foundation of a knowledge-based society and forms the basis of social capital. Without trust, societies do not develop.”
Also attending the conference were Amin Gemayel, former president of Lebanon; Amr Moussa, former secretary-general of the Arab League; Abdullah Bishara, former secretary-general of the GCC; and Ahmad Al-Jarwan, former speaker of the Arab Parliament.
Moussa spoke of the GCC’s achievements, noting that there are opportunities and hope for the region, which must take citizens’ experiences into account and fulfill their requirements. He also highlighted the need for joint frameworks to face regional and international challenges of political agendas being imposed on the Arab world.