Doha Forum: A Platform for Dialogue and Exchange of Ideas on Important Current Global Issues
Doha, December 09 (QNA) - The world's attention will be directed towards Doha on Dec. 10 and 11, when the 21st Edition of the Doha Forum will be held. Amidst growing global and regional circumstances and challenges, the forum's discussions are expected to come up with ideas and directions that will help address crises and mitigate their impact as much as possible.
The agenda and discussions of the 21st Doha Forum, which comes under the slogan "Building Shared Futures", hold great importance, as participants that include policymakers, global leaders and experts from all over the world, will shed light on solving problems in systematic and proactive ways, as well as provide practical solutions that will achieve long-term sustainability and make the world a diverse and better place for everyone from different cultures.
Participants will delve deeper into analyzing a number of current important topics, by building on the success of previous editions and opening the door to dialogue and enhancing discussion on the topics that include economic development, environmental sustainability, food security, artificial intelligence and geopolitical dynamics.
Branching out from all these current and important global and regional issues, participants will also discuss side topics by bringing together diverse viewpoints, enhancing cooperation, and leading positive change through diplomacy, dialogue and diversity.
In a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Director General of the Doha Forum Fatima Mohammed Al Baker affirmed the great importance that the Doha Forum has managed to obtain over the past years ever since its launch, as it has become a platform for dialogue and the exchange of ideas on various issues and topics. Over two decades, the Doha Forum has established itself as a prominent platform in the diplomatic scene and has been able to provide an open and diverse environment that promotes dialogue and the exchange of ideas.
The increasing interest in the Doha Forum is reflected in the expansion of the circle of distinguished participating partners and their diversity year after year. It is also an undoubtable reflection of Doha's global status, as well as the forum's program which focuses on discussing the most important current issues and finding ways to solve them in a way that contributes to building a bright tomorrow for all, Al Baker added.
In its attentiveness to the current regional and international issues, and within its political agenda, the 21st Doha Forum will focus on important issues of international security and peace such as developments in the Middle East, most notably the Palestinian cause and the aggression, destruction and genocide that the Gaza Strip has been exposed to by the Israeli occupation force since Oct. 7, in what can only be described as a crime against humanity and a blatant and flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and human rights and the relevant international and Arab legitimacy resolutions, including the issue of the two-state solution with the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital on the 1967 borders.
The catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip also stands out in this regard and the importance of the need to expand the scope of humanitarian aid in order to alleviate the suffering of the brotherly Palestinian people, in addition to discussing crises that face a number of other Arab countries.
The 21st Doha Forum will address the regional and international challenges and crises with research and study and ways to deal with them and address them through dialogue and peaceful means. It will also address the importance of finding fair settlements of long regional conflicts and crises that continue to affect various parts of the world, particularly the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, with peace being the ideal and strategic choice for the region and the entire world.
In light of the current global economic turmoil and volatility, there is an urgent need to address the vital issue of economic development and deal with major changes. These can be in the form of economic and social transformations, including those related to energy, renewable, clean and green energy, as well as related challenges and opportunities. The goal is to create job opportunities and sustainable development in several productive and economic sectors as well as their optimal use in the midst of the rapid global transformations in these areas.
The agenda of the forum highlights the issue of sustainability and its strengthening, the environment, climate change and its challenges with all its different global aspects. Qatar attaches great importance to all these, particularly as it have become seriously disturbing and harming to the world in the recent years after being a global worry and a topic of discussion in every conference and forum, in light of the expansion of deforestation, droughts and global warming in several parts and countries in the world.
Some of the current additional topics that will be discussed by the participants in the forum, Artificial Intelligence and its governance, and related matters such as digital technology and aspects of cybersecurity. All these matters contributed greatly to shaping the face of the world.
As for the issue of food security, it is certainly a compelling and vital global issue that has imposed itself internationally. Worthy of note that the State of Qatar, under the leadership of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, attaches crucial interest in this matter either internally or abroad.
Undoubtedly, overcoming the challenges of such vital issues requires necessarily the existence of international will to face and combat the problem of the rise of poverty and achieving food security as it is an issue of global security. It is also required to work in a similar context to attain self-sufficiency in a time a group of factors, such as population growth and urban expansion as well as the change both in consumption patterns and climate, challenges the ability of world agricultural systems to provide food, and consequently a more sustainable life for all.
The forum will delve into the topic of geopolitical dynamics and their security and political implications on a global scale, and other key issues and topics included in the forum's agenda. Therefore, Fatma Al Baker insists in her statement to the Qatar News Agency that this year's edition will be distinguished with its guests and topics that include the international relations, security, politics, economy, development, cybersecurity, data privacy and Artificial Intelligence and sustainability. She expected that during the Doha Forum more than 7 agreements will be signed.
Through the two days of the forum, 18 main sessions and 35 side sessions will be held, in which the discussions will cover the current situations in the region, especially in the Gaza strip, and other current regional and international issues such as: Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Sudan and Ukraine, in addition to the different economic and political implications and symptoms.
The Doha Forum, which had its first edition in 2001, has become a crucial platform for dialogue concerned with generating international policies for meeting, ideas exchanging, and working towards finding solutions to the major current crises in the world. With the diversity of viewpoints, Doha managed to be a destination for open dialogue through the diverse initiatives and forums that it hosts. The forum, as is the case in its previous editions, can promote constructive and effective dialogue based on the vision of Qatar in solving problems and overcoming challenges through dialogue. The successes of the forum since its establishment are numerous and its works are characterized by an international momentum and a shared desire to deal with the challenges that face the world as well as building relations and partnerships resulting in the development of common concepts.
This has made Doha a capital for the renewed dialogue of civilizations. Thus, the forum became along over two years an international platform for diplomacy, dialogue and development. It also became a platform for discussing the major global challenges and changes, one for developing creative solutions that are applicable on numerous problems, that hopefully lead to safe, fairer and more sustainable world, which can secure a better future for all generations. (QNA)
