DUBAI, 6 December 2006 — There is consensus in the Arab world that foreign-driven reforms are not wanted, Lakhdar Brahimi, former special adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General, told delegates at the Arab Strategy Forum.
“There is consensus in our region that most of our regimes are not performing well. Very serious reform is needed. This concern has reached the governments and they recognize that they need to reform,” Brahimi said at the second day’s plenary session titled “The Future of Arab Regimes: Stagnation and Change?”
“But there is also consensus that foreign-driven reforms and agenda are not wanted. They do not work and are not welcome,” Brahimi declared to applause from the audience.
He also stated that the success or failure of a regime is based not on the length of time it has served, but on what it is seen as having done for the people and the country.
Lisa Andersen, dean of School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, said that public perception of Arab regimes is confused. “Opposition to regimes is sliding into opposition to states, which is a crisis,” she said while referring to the situation in Iraq and Lebanon as a case in point.
Speaking at a session titled “US November Elections: Implications for the World,” Rami G. Khouri, Editor-at-Large, The Daily Star, said that the region is seeing peculiar new alliances like the one between Shiite Iran and Sunni Islamic groups.
“We’re finally seeing the full consequences of the end of the global cold war in the region. Now it is a regional cold war.”
A majority of regimes in the region, Khouri pointed out, are “desperately trying to get the protection of the US.” At the same time, political Islamists are gaining mass appeal. “In the last 10 years, every single election held in the region has been won by political Islamists. There is a massive split in public opinion in countries in the Middle East,” he said.
However, the world may have to live with the absence of a counter-balancing global power for a while, said Victor Chu, chairman, First Eastern Investment. “It will take time for China to be a global leader that can restore the balance of power.”
Talking about the impact of last month’s American Senate elections on US foreign policy, speakers said that the Democrat victory puts increasing pressure on the US to make a policy change in Iraq.
Robert Malley, director, Middle East and North Africa Program, International Crisis Group, said that the results of the recent elections were largely determined by foreign policy on Iraq. Though a Democrat-led Congress may not be able to influence foreign policy change, “Iraq is an exception to the rule.”
Women Role Models
Speakers at the breakout session on “How will Arab women transform business?” on the first day of the forum, hailed the emerging role of Arab women in the business world.
Speakers included Raja Essa Saleh Al-Gurg, managing director of Essa Saleh Al-Gurg Group, UAE; Maureen Kempston Darkes, vice president, General Motors Group and president, General Motors Latin America, Africa and Middle East, USA; and Sheikha Hanadi bint Khaled Al-Thani, vice chairperson and managing director of Amwal, Qatar.
Haifa Al-Kaylani, chairperson, Arab International Women’s Forum, United Kingdom, moderated the session.
Raja Essa Al-Gurg said that it is assumed that women from the Arab world are prevented from rising to the top because of cultural and religious reasons. She said that this was wrong especially in the context of the UAE where women are guaranteed equal opportunities of work and education.
Sheikha Hanadi bint Khalid Al-Thani said that Arab women have always been actively involved in management although their focus was more on managing their families and home. She said that the entry of women in the business world is part of the natural evolution of the Arab women as in other parts of the world.
Tribunal to Fight Corruption
An international tribunal should be established to fight systemic corruption in the world, including the Middle East, Habib Al-Mulla, chairman of the Dubai Financial Services Authority said at the ASF.
Al-Mulla said that any citizen should have the right to bring a criminal prosecution against a company or country suspected of being involved in corruption or bribery.
Speaking during a panel discussion held at the forum on the first day, titled “Will Corruption Continue to Eliminate Opportunity,” Al-Mulla also called on multinational companies to boycott countries engaged in corrupt practices. “This would send a very powerful message,” he said.
Obaid Humaid Al-Tayer, chairman of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) said the Arab world had to face up to the issue of corruption. He said the lack of transparency in the region resulted in a lack of accountability.
He called for an end to the practice of governments establishing large-scale businesses and appointing government officials to run them.
