Manama: Saudi foreign minister Adel Al Jubeir expressed optimism over the Saudi-led coalition’s fight against Al Houthi militants in Yemen and described the conflict as being “in its final phase”.
Speaking at the Manama Dialogue on Saturday, Al Jubeir justified his claim by pointing to Al Houthis’ recognition of UN Resolution 2216 on the political front and on the ground the re-opening of ports by coalition forces which has brought essential goods back into the country.
Fresh in Manama after speaking to the Russians in Vienna, Al Jubeir added that the Saudis were grateful to the Russians for their good offices in pressing Al Houthis to accept the political process, while also noting the Iranians had kept up their malignant role in the war.
The conference focused on the fight against Daesh and finding ways to reinforce both the nation states and the social confidence that is needed to utterly rebut the terrorists.
The previous evening, Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi gave the opening keynote address defining the conference’s dominant theme as the preservation of the region’s nation states and resisting the attack on the rule of law by armed militias.
“Egypt shares your concern on the attack on legitimate rights of citizens as armed groups challenge states, using sectarian and communal identities to challenge the notion of a state,” said Al Sissi.
“And these people are supported by religious political parties that at first we thought were capable of remaining separate from the extremists, but then these parties started to change the political scene and they connived with the extremists. They are still a threat to our security,” he said.
Looking outside Egypt at the Arab region, Al Sissi was very clear that Egypt wants to carve out its role in helping nation states recover and prosper.
“We need to preserve what we have left. We have to fight terror with force, but also with social policy,” he said.
Egypt is working for a full and final settlement in Palestine, the formation of a national unity government in Libya, and a secure and stable Yemen, as the president named three Egyptian priorities in a rapid overview of the region.
His comment on the need for strong social policies to be an integral part of the fight against terror was echoed by Abdul Latif Al Zayani, Secretary- General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, who also emphasised the wide nature of the fight against terror when he spoke at the opening session of the Manama Dialogue, giving as an example how several Gulf states have amended their education curriculums in order to counter terrorism.
Al Zayani made clear that stability of the region’s nation states was the most important goal, and that required “correcting and modernising the religious discourse” so that the barrage of propaganda from the terrorists can be countered and rejected.
He insisted that the fight against terror and Daesh must include both military and security action, as well as developing politics that work for secure and stable states in which people can prosper and seek their opportunities with safety.
As an example of this he pointed out that in addition to the coalition’s ongoing military action in Yemen, rehabilitation, humanitarian, and reconstruction work is already under way. The GCC and UN Development Programme have large projects in the country, the Friends of Yemen have a $8 billion fund that is 67 per cent supported by the GCC states.
“We do not want Yemen to go the way of Iraq and Libya,” said Al Zayani, giving the terrible example of two large Arab states that collapsed into chaos as they attempted and failed transition to a new governance.
Meanwhile, on Syria, Al Jubeir said important progress was made in Vienna where regional and international players gathered on Friday to discuss its future.
Al Jubeir said that the participants agreed on four points: the integrity of Syria’s borders, the inclusive nature of the future state, a need to write a new constitution, and the need for urgent humanitarian action. Disagreement remained on the timing of both the removal of President Bashar Al Assad from power, and the exit of foreign forces from Syria and the Iranians in particular.
If agreement is reached, Al Jubeir said that “the Vienna agreement foresaw a two- to four-month process in which to set up the Interim Council which would include figures from the opposition and government including military figures if the Syrians wish. And, within six months there would be a careful transfer of power from the regime to the Interim Council so that there is no risk of institutional collapse as has happened in other countries with such disastrous consequences.
“Then within 18 to 24 months there needs to follow the writing and implementation of a new constitution, the holding of elections for a permanent government, and resettlement of refugees,” he said.
