The King of Bahrain

After welcoming the guests, His Majesty read a brief statement, and then engaged in conversation with the delegation leaders. The leaders were then received by His Highness Sheikh Salman Bin Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain Defence Force.  

 

In his statement, King Hamad welcomed delegation leaders to Bahrain, which he described as a ‘land of peaceful coexistence, tolerance and free thought’. To be free, he said, the world needed to be secure and stable. ’Terrorism threatens freedom as it threatens life itself. It is well known that prevention is better than cure.’

Sharing information through dialogues such as this conference was an important part of the prevention strategy, His Majesty continued. So too was dealing with the root causes of terrorism through ‘scientific methods’. Science – for example, in medicine and energy research – provided valuable opportunities for the human race’s future. ‘It should be used for peaceful purposes, for example using the atom for civilian purposes’, King Hamad said.

 

Europe and the Arab world, he said, had become more closely interconnected in terms of both civilisation and security. ‘It is incumbent on us to draft a renewed framework for this shared great expanse where Europe, through Turkey, would have shared boundaries with the Arab and Islamic worlds.’ The NATO Istanbul initiative on cooperation with Gulf states could ‘support and complement this large-scale strategic vision’. A united and secure Iraq, King Hamad said, could be the launch-pad for a common understanding with its neighbours and the entire international community on reconstruction of a region burdened by wars.

 

Comprehensive stability in the region was the best way to ensure the supply of energy to the whole world at satisfactory prices. King Hamad said: ‘We are confident that all of us are eager to cooperate in order to achieve this goal for the benefit of the world economy and the prosperity of its peoples.’