Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, speaking Saturday in Manama at an international conference on security, said failure to provide employment opportunities and social services to keep up with rising populations would help fuel discontent and "create an environment in which extremism and terrorism take hold."
MANAMA, Bahrain, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Bahrain's foreign minister has warned that unemployment and rising birthrates in the Middle East are sowing the seeds for extremism and terrorism.
Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, speaking Saturday in Manama at an international conference on security, said failure to provide employment opportunities and social services to keep up with rising populations would help fuel discontent and "create an environment in which extremism and terrorism take hold."
"The challenges posed by the region's rapidly growing populations are well recognized and must be met if long-term internal security is to be maintained," he said.
The conference was sponsored by the International Institute for Strategic Studies and was attended by representatives from Bahrain, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, Oman, Saudi Arabia and other regional states. Also attending were representatives from Australia, Russia, Germany, Japan, Britain and the United States, as well as Singapore, Turkey and Pakistan.
