RIYADH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb held bilateral talks focusing on efforts to solve regional problems and revive Middle East peace negotiations on Monday. The talks with the king in Riyadh came after Stubb’s discussions with Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal.
“The need to adopt a collective and comprehensive approach to resolve regional issues including the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Iran, nuclear standoff, the crisis on the Saudi-Yemeni border and climate change figured prominently during the talks,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Osama Nugali on Monday.
Prince Saud and Stubb called on Israel to revive the peace process. They also discussed ways to deal with Iran, which has failed to comply with international demands so far. The two ministers agreed a firm stance was needed on the issue
The Finnish foreign minister, who had discussions on a range of bilateral, regional and international subjects with Prince Saud, said that his visit was mainly intended for political consultations with the Saudi leadership. Stubb, who will wrap up his three-day visit to Riyadh on Tuesday, also met with Bandar M. Hamza Hajjar, deputy speaker of the Shoura Council on Monday. On the Middle East peace process, Stubb in a report echoed the concerns of the European Union Council.
“The European Union calls for the urgent resumption of negotiations that will lead, within an agreed time frame, to a two-state solution with the state of Israel and an independent, democratic, contiguous and viable state of Palestine,” he noted. A comprehensive peace treaty, which is in the fundamental interest of parties in the region and the EU, must be achieved on the basis of relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, he added.
Stubb, who will also visit Oman and Qatar during this three-nation trip, delivered a talk on the Finnish perspective of the EU and a perceived new global order, stressing the need for Europe to play a larger role in world affairs.
“The EU has all the tools it needs to be a key player on the global stage. What we need now, of course, is political will. The EU member states must also accept that foreign policy can’t be based on the lowest common denominator.”
He said that the need for European cooperation today is stronger than ever.
“The global economy is undergoing a significant change with the rise of emerging markets and a shift toward a more multipolar system and increasingly the key challenges for the EU lie not within its borders but beyond them,” the Finnish minister added. To meet these challenges, the EU must pay attention to three issues, he noted.
“First, it is essential for Europe to maintain its openness and to avoid protectionism, and the second is the EU’s need for a new forward-looking economic project — a new economic narrative — with a significant role given to green, energy-efficient technologies including a common energy policy,” he explained. Thirdly, he said that the EU must look at its financial system — how money is collected and what that money is spent on.
