Arab countries can overcome their weakness by embracing free political institutions and free markets, said former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri at the Arab Strategy Forum in Dubai, according to Gulf News.
Al-Hariri dismissed the notion that Arab political and economic problems were the result of foreign influence and said Arab governments have failed to follow up on promised reforms.
He said Arab governments must move quickly to adopt democracy, adding that the conception that Islam and democracy do not go together is wrong. “Islam has its own conception of political openness and political transparency,” Al-Hariri was quoted in Gulf News.
The conference, which opened in Dubai on Monday, is discussing the future of the Arab world in the year 2020. Prominent Arab and international figures are attending the conference, including former U.S. President Bill Clinton, former U.S. Central Command chief General Tommy Franks, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director Muhammad Al-Barade’i, and Dubai’s Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Al-Hariri said the two issues that will determine the future of the region are ending the Arab-Israeli conflict and achieving a just and comprehensive peace, and ending what he called the occupation in Iraq, setting up a national leadership while maintaining the country’s unity, according to the London-based Al-Hayyat.
In a session discussing the situation in Iraq, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hushyar Zibari said the upcoming elections in Iraq are difficult labor pains that will determine the future of Iraq.