DOHA: There can be no be economic reform without a comprehensive and balanced development, said Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI) Chairman, Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, here yesterday. He said likewise there can be no development without political stability which in turn cannot be achieved without justice and equality. "Therefore, talking about democracy as a magic stick that can change the world and history lacks objectiveness. There can be no democracy without freedom of expression and there is no freedom of expression for people who do not have daily subsistence," Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim said.
Sheikh Khalifa was addressing the final preparatory meeting of the business sector that was held as part of the 7th Forum for the Future of the Group of 8 (G8) industrialized nations and the Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) countries which is chaired by the State of Qatar and Canada. Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim noted that democracy is not a means for development, but it is one of its fruits. "Before talking about democracy we should first seek to achieve security and stability for the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa," he said.
He described the current political landscape in the Middle East and Africa as "more than dark" because of conflicts and disputes and political and boarder problems that made military armament more important than providing food. He said that if we are talking about globalisation that has turned the world into a small village, then there is a need to take a closer look at the topography of this small village, which is suffering major flaws at all levels with definite contradictions between what is happening on the ground and what is said in the conferences and forums.
The current reality of G8 is a clear example of these contradictions, where they own 65 percent of the global economy while its population does not exceed 14 percent of the total world population, he said.
In the same vein, he noted that that the G8 countries spent some $ 707bn on armament in 2005 and four countries own 98 percent of the world's nuclear weapons which clearly shows G8's willingness to tighten its grip on the world's economic decisions. "The contradiction between the reality and the political discourse put us in need for openness and frankness," said Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim.
He also said that without definition of the region's problems and a genuine desire to find solutions to those problems the objectives of the 7th Forum for the Future, namely creating a framework for frank emphasis on strengthening democracy and creating partnership and providing a framework for coordinating the dialogue between industrialized countries and countries in the Middle East and North Africa will remain without a real value.
© The Peninsula 2011
