Former Conservative Party leader and current UK Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague said his party would do more to build ties with the Middle East if it wins the next British general election.
Speaking on the sidelines of the forum, Mr Hague told the GDN of his ambitions to lead renewed efforts to build educational, trade and diplomatic ties between the UK and the region.
By MARK SUMMERS
THE UK could be doing more to build stronger relations with the Middle East, one of its most senior politicians said yesterday.
Former Conservative Party leader and current UK Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague said his party would do more to build ties with the Middle East if it wins the next British general election.
Speaking on the sidelines of the forum, Mr Hague told the GDN of his ambitions to lead renewed efforts to build educational, trade and diplomatic ties between the UK and the region.
"We would like to see a more consistent, elevated effort to strengthen the relationship with some of the countries in this region, particularly the Gulf states," said Mr Hague, who is tipped by many to be his country's next foreign secretary if the Conservatives can turn strong leads in opinion polls into national electoral success.
"I have called for a major cross-party, long-term national effort to strengthen educational, economic and diplomatic links with all of the Gulf states.
"That could apply to other European countries as well, but Britain has particularly strong historical ties with Bahrain and Oman for instance, so I would really like to see intensified engagement between universities, on the promotion of trade and so on.
"A lot of good things are happening anyway - I am not meaning to be critical of many people's efforts in that regard - but I think we could do more, and the reaction of the countries in the region is we could do more.
"So a Conservative government will pursue that consistently and energetically."
Mr Hague had words of praise for the two-day security meeting, which he was attending for the second time.
"I came last year and I found it a very, very useful conference in terms of meeting a lot of people in the region all in one place," he said.
"I can meet a lot of foreign ministers all in one place and hear some quite frank discussions about the strategic situation.
"I thought the Iraqi national security adviser gave some very clear messages - he said the strategic direction of his country is clear: it is going West.
"That was quite a stark way to put it, really, and that is one of the merits of this conference - it does not tip-toe around the edges of the issues."
