As Prepared:
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great honor to have my dear brother Minister Mottaki with me for this first plenary session, as we advance and exchange views on the theme Regional Security Cooperation.
While I would not want to start my speech on a negative note, I am compelled to set out an honest assessment of our current situation, which is far from hopeful. Over the past year, the challenges facing the region have persisted, and on occasion have grown yet more complex. An air of mistrust and mutual suspicion exists in the region, causing solvable conflicts to appear intractable, and leading to a palpable sense of disillusion and apathy.
Consider the situation in Palestine: infighting between Palestinian factions undermined the strength of the Palestinian Authority as a capable interlocutor for Peace. And more importantly, the change in Israeli government brought policies and measures that have significantly hindered peace efforts and increased mutual antipathy and distrust between the parties.
Although the physical distance between the Palestinian territories and the Gulf may be significant, it has the potential to inflame passions and cause divisions between regional states, as policy differences in seeking to address the situation could become rifts between neighbors. The situation is also ripe for exploitation by extremist and terrorist entities as a recruiting tool, thereby further threatening the security and stability of the Gulf.
As for the situation in Iraq, yes, there has been progress, and the recent approval of the electoral law is an indication of that. But the magnitude of terrorist attacks have not allowed the country to develop and be truly secure. It is in all our interests to see Iraq thrive, and we firmly believe that it is the responsibility of Iraq’s neighbors to extend their hand to Iraq and not in Iraq.
This past year has also seen the resurgence of the terrorist threat in the region: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula have grown in strength and boldness. The attempted assassination of HRH Prince Mohamed Bin Nayef Al-Saud, deputy interior minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the growing presence of Al-Qaeda in the southern parts of Yemen are stark reminders of the potential damage these groups might cause, and of the need to counter this growing threat.
Yemen is facing a confluence of looming challenges such as economic decline, an emerging water shortage, violent extremism, and a growing insurgency in the north that, taken together, threaten stability, provide a breeding ground for terrorists, and destabilize the region. Yemen has survived past crises, but the current risks are unprecedented in their scope and interconnectivity. The insurgents in Yemen have sought to destabilize the country’s internal situation, and showed no hesitation in encroaching violently upon the territory of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The threat to regional security from such non-state actors is clear. It is imperative to adopt a firm and concerted effort to counter such influences wherever they may arise. We cannot and will not accept any interference in internal affairs by external agents. The quick and decisive actions taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have contributed not only to its own national security, but also to that of the region, and we in Bahrain, or rather all of us throughout the entire GCC, remain committed to assisting our neighbors in any way in which we can. We stand fully behind our brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in protecting their sovereignty and security.
Moreover, the extremist threat continues to challenge the stability and security of Pakistan and Afghanistan, two countries with whom we share historic and close relations on all levels. The activities of Al-Qaeda and their sympathizers know no borders and, if allowed to prevail, these groups will undoubtedly threaten the security of their neighbors, including the Gulf region. Again, a concerted effort is needed to assist the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan in overcoming the terrorist elements in their midst.
Perhaps, the most fearsome threat to the region is the possibility of an Israeli-Iranian confrontation over Iran’s nuclear program. This creates a volatile hair-trigger situation that can explode unexpectedly with severe consequences for regional and international stability. Lives will be lost, vital resources will be put in jeopardy, the world economy will undoubtedly suffer and all our efforts towards regional development and prosperity will be significantly hindered. It is incumbent upon the international community to rally together and ensure that such a catastrophe is not realized.
Esteemed Delegates,
Given the immense challenges we face, mistrust and mutual suspicion between regional countries is something we can ill afford. The future of Gulf security will be defined by the need to find sustainable balances between regional and international organizations; between incremental reform to political and economic structures and addressing deeper systemic problems; and between rising demands and falling supplies of natural resources. On all these issues, there is an urgent need for regional cooperation to tackle the challenges we face. In formulating and implementing such cooperation, I believe that we can and should draw from current and past examples of successful cooperation in and around our region, be it Turkey's commitment to "zeroing its problems with neighbors", or the mechanism of the 6+2 meetings which has expanded gradually to include Iraq and Morocco, or finally the effective working relationship between Bahrain and Iran to swiftly address any possible tensions that may arise.
Establishing a framework through which regional countries can meet to navigate these challenges and discuss ways to coordinate security policies, will dispel misperception and mutual suspicion, and ensure a transparent regional environment that will help us avoid unnecessary conflicts. Setting up such a mechanism, will neither be quick nor easy, but it is essential to help ensure the security and stability of the Gulf in the long term. This is the end goal towards which we can and should take incremental steps.
In due course, we will need to address the structure and mechanics of this security framework: At what level should contacts be focused? What forum or framework is the most appropriate for addressing security issues of regional concern? What role should non-regional states play, not only in maintaining Gulf security, but in participating in intra-regional security discussions? What joint projects would be appropriate and beneficial?
For the most part, these are questions for the future - at this stage, a comprehensive overall security arrangement including all Gulf countries is neither possible nor practical. However, what we can and should do is to focus on the immediate, achievable measures that we can take today to move the region towards an environment in which a strong and stable regional security framework can come into being. In this context, I believe a core practical issue is the building of bridges across all those rifts that separate countries in the region - an important and attainable first step.
Honorable friends,
Despite the ongoing active dialogue between the international community and Iran, there remains a weakness in the dialogue between Iran and its immediate neighbors. In this respect, we have nobody to blame but ourselves: it is high time that the Gulf region took responsibility for our own issues and challenges, and the only way in which we can achieve that is to build our relations towards an understanding that stands on a solid basis.
Consider Bahrain's relationship with Iran: we believe that maintaining our cooperation with Iran is of fundamental importance, because non-cooperation and to put it bluntly, doing nothing, is more dangerous than any possible nuclear threat. We have an ongoing bilateral dialogue, and despite occasional strains, we have always managed to find ways to overcome issues in a swift and amicable manner. Would it not be ideal if this kind of mechanism existed between countries of the region?
The question is: How do we translate this concept practically and pragmatically?
It is through confidence building measures that pave the way, such as:
- First, convening meetings to coordinate responses on disaster risk reduction. We welcome, for example, Iran's call to examine ways to mitigate the severe dust storms that threaten our whole region.
- Second, establishing a regional development program that would provide expertise and assistance in areas that are in need of certain resources. We all know that there are many areas in the region, particularly Yemen, Afghanistan, and parts of Pakistan that lack basic resources, and by pooling our expertise and resources we can create synergies to help address those problems.
- Third, commencing regional consultations to mitigate the effects of any future regional nuclear disaster from occurring. In this regard we propose an International Body for Nuclear Law to assist states to both abide by international obligations concerning the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the implementation of safeguards, as well as to prepare and implement appropriate domestic legal, regulatory and procurement regimes. We have already consulted with the IAEA and will soon talk with our neighbours about the importance of setting up such an important framework.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Another key issue impacting upon the regional security framework is reconciling regime security with human security, in order to strengthen the internal cohesion of gulf politics and to ensure that current and future security encompasses all peoples.
I want to dwell briefly on the concept of human security because I think it is a useful lens for viewing challenges to, and envisioning solutions for, human development and security in our region.
We have a tendency to think of security only in military or state security terms, but the security of people themselves is threatened not just by conflict and civil unrest, but also by environmental degradation, gender inequality, discrimination unemployment, poverty, and lack of proper education. Only if these sources of insecurity are addressed in a holistic manner will our people be able to make progress in human development and security.
It is thus imperative that we strengthen the rule of law; protect the environment; safeguard therights of women as an indispensable pillar of society; move toward a more diversified, knowledge-basedeconomy that provides sufficient employment; tackle poverty andend hunger; boost public health; and end occupation and armedconflict, in order to advance our region's security and stability.
In this regard, Bahrain's Vision 2030, copies of which you can find in the foyer, highlights our efforts to address challenges we face. Its guiding principles are sustainability, competitiveness and fairness, and setting out a program to promote a flexible and well-trained workforce, a stable, responsible, efficient and effective government, and regulatory environment, that safeguards an open and vibrant economy.
Distinguished guests,
The last two years have cast a monumental political and economic shadow over our collective memory of the decade. In this context, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of building trust between the people and governments of the Middle East both as a basic foundation for such a framework, and in order to overcomeany lingering misperceptions. It is almost impossible to imagine a secure and peaceful region without open and transparent relations between neighbors in the Gulf and without a just peace in Palestine. Unless we redouble our efforts to tackle regional security issues collectively, security and stability will remain elusive and may lead to a situation where the use of force might come to be seen as morally justifiable.
Thank you
