Bahrain’s His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has stressed the need to unite efforts to stop direct interference in the internal affairs of states, saying that it was one of the most ominous current challenges and that it violates the principles and rights guaranteed by international laws.
In his speech at the Jeddah Security and Development Summit, HM King also called for deep and balanced ways to resolve the crises and conflicts that have beset the Middle East, an important international strategic region that has suffered for years from difficult political, security and economic conditions and from very dangerous challenges.
The leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jordan, Egypt, Iraq and the U.S. are participating in the summit in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.
A translation of HM the King’s speech:
“My brother, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud,
Your Majesties, Excellencies and Highnesses,
Peace, and God’s mercy and blessings be upon you
We are pleased to express our heartfelt congratulations to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on the outstanding success of this year’s Hajj.
We also wish to express our sincere thanks and gratitude for his kind invitation to this summit.
The summit represents a good opportunity to strengthen historical friendship and relations and deepen the strategic partnership between our countries and the United States of America, under the leadership of His Excellency President Joe Biden.
It is also an opportunity to review solutions to achieve peace and development for all the peoples of the Middle East by jointly confronting the challenges that threaten regional stability, international peace and security, and global interests.
The Middle East region, which has an important international strategic position, has suffered for years from difficult political, security and economic conditions and from very dangerous challenges, which requires us to think in a balanced and deep way about how to get out of the ongoing crises and conflicts.
At the top of the crises and conflicts lies the Palestinian cause that must be resolved through a just and lasting settlement and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, in accordance with the two-state solution and the Arab Peace Initiative.
This can be achieved also by creating promising and sustainable economic opportunities for the brotherly Palestinian people and their actual participation in a comprehensive development, as presented in the outcomes of the “Peace to Prosperity” workshop held in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 2019.
There is, in addition, the need to reach a political settlement to the Yemeni crisis and to continue humanitarian and development support for the people of Yemen.
One of the most ominous current challenges is the direct interference in the internal affairs of states, as it violates the principles and rights guaranteed by international laws.
The time has come to unite efforts to stop such interference, out of respect for the sovereignty of states, their religious and cultural values, and their civilized commitment to respect for the others, tolerance and peaceful coexistence, in addition to continuing Joint efforts to make the Middle East a zone free of weapons of mass destruction, and to combat terrorism, fanatic ideology and its outlaw extremist organizations.
Maintaining regional security and stability requires cooperation, solidarity and effective joint action, in order to meet the aspirations of our peoples for peace, development and prosperity.
In this context, we stress the importance of the continuity of the work of the joint naval forces and the activation of additional joint duty forces in view of their pivotal role in protecting international navigation and securing oil supplies and global trade through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab Al Mandab.
We highly appreciate the fruitful and constructive cooperation between our valiant naval forces and the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet from the Kingdom of Bahrain for more than seventy-five years.
In this regard, we stress the importance of more support for efforts aimed at stabilizing global energy prices, including increasing investments to expand exploration and refining and introducing new technologies that contribute to supporting global economic growth and facing price inflation.
We do not neglect here the need to encourage all initiatives to export grain, wheat and others to secure its access to global markets, and activate initiatives to support the affected countries to achieve food security.
We look forward with full hope and optimism that this summit will yield fruitful results and constructive outcomes that enhance cooperation and consolidate the amicable relations between our countries.
This will enable us to confront political, security, economic and environmental challenges, establish security and stability, and lay the foundations for a strong and extended relationship that meets the requirements of the present and the future.
We ask God to lead us all to everything that is beneficial for our countries and peoples.
Pace and God’s mercy and blessings be upon you.”
CREDIT: BNA
