Abu Dhabi - MENA Herald: One hundred and twenty international and regional figures will engage in closed-door talks focusing on the reconfiguration of the Arab region and its global space beyond political economy and security threats at Beirut Institute Summit in Abu Dhabi this week.
Following the Chatham House Rule, four Policy Circles will see international and regional legacy leaders and thinkers openly share opinions and ideas on the state of the region from a global perspective.
The powerful line-up includes sitting and former presidents, prime ministers and ministers including HE Mohammed Dayri Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Libya, HE Nohad El Machnouk Minister of Interior and Municipalities in Lebanon, HE Dr. Ibrahim Saif Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources in Jordan, HE Danilo Türk Former President of the Republic of Slovenia, HE Kevin Rudd Former Prime Minister of Australia, HE Mr. Salam Fayyad Former Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority and tier one global officials, dignitaries and senior public policy experts from the region, USA, Europe, Russia, China, South America and Africa. These include HE Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, HE Jan Eliasson Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, HE Fatou Bensouda Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, GEN (Ret.) David H. Petraeus Member & Chairman of the KKR Global Institute, Dr. Philip Gordon Former Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs and Baroness Valerie Amos, Director of SOAS, University of London.
The circles will be led by HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal Chairman of King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, HE Dr. Amre Moussa Former Secretary General of the League of Arab States, and HE Dr. Barham Salih Former Prime Minister of Iraqi Kurdistan and Former Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq.
“The Arab region currently stands at a crossroad that offers routes to crisis and instability on the one hand and opportunity and progress on the other. Beirut Institute’s much-anticipated Summit in Abu Dhabi offers a space for open dialogue, discussion and debate to truly seed the reconfiguration of the region, and its global space,” said Raghida Dergham, Founder and Executive Chairman of Beirut Institute.
The Summit will run from October 10 and 11 at The St. Regis Hotel - Corniche and will explore the Arab region’s challenges and potential through integrated inter-disciplinary perspectives that move beyond a traditional understanding of the concepts of “political economy” and “security threats”.
Among issues under the spotlight at the open-door plenary sessions that follow the half-day policy circles is the role of smart cities, the viewpoint of Arab women and the relationship between ideas and policy.
Many of the on-the-record conversations with senior government officials, policy makers, CEOs, as well as young leaders will be captured by live webcasts. Senior and upcoming political, business and civil society leaders are invited to exchange insights on the most pertinent geo-strategic and economic challenges currently affecting the Arab region.
“We believe that the Summit format will permit both the free exchange of ideas off-the-record while giving an opportunity for a broader audience to openly engage with the crucially important topics. In this way we hope to maximise the impact of the Summit’s outcomes on the general intellectual debate in the Arab region and beyond,” added Dergham.
A.T. Kearney is supporting the Summit as the exclusive Knowledge Partner and the UAE’s national carrier, Etihad Airways as the official Airline Partner.