Sheikh Mohammed's magic hour

In the space of an hour, everything changed - and not just for the 1200 delegates gathered on the shores of the Dead Sea, but for millions of young people across the Middle East.

For a day and a half, the World Economic Forum on the Middle East had been a somewhat subdued affair. A powerful opening address by King Abdullah II of Jordan had provided a strong start, but the Forum was still waiting for that spark which each year sets it apart from the thousands of other such conventions held in the region all year round.

First, an appetizer. The main Plenary Hall finally saw a debate worthy of the great stage, as Princes and Prime Ministers locked horns over the security issues facing the Middle East. Shaukat Aziz, Prime Minister of Pakistan, called for all the international players to engage in achieving stability in the region. Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan, agreed, saying: "We would not have been able to achieve what we have in Afghanistan in the last five years without the presence of the international community and the cooperation of our neighbours."

Both were training their eyes firmly upon Manouchehr Mottaki, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, who responded by saying that his country should naturally be involved in the peace process. "Iran was and is always a part of the solutions to the crises in the region," he declared, pointing to the fact that the American and Iranian ambassadors in Baghdad would meet on 28 May to discuss the situation in Iraq. He also took the opportunity to call for closer regional cooperation, emphasizing that "the most important factor is we need more integration - comprehensive integration among countries in the region."

He wasn't getting away with it that easily. HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Saud, Chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, and formerly Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington, skewered Mottaki with repeated questions on Iran's position on the two-state proposal to secure peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict. On Palestine, he was just as scathing: "Our Palestinian brothers have to stop fighting not just with each other... It is a shame that we point our wrath and anger at our fellow Arabs and Muslims in a more deadly manner than we do at our enemies."

Finally, HH Sheikh Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain Defence Force, took a final shot at the beleaguered Mottaki. "Your national security should be guaranteed in partnership with your neighbours, not at their expense," he commented, witheringly.

When the debate ended - much to the consternation of Marouf Bakhit, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of Jordan, who had not been able to get a word in edgeways, and was visibly fed up as a result - the hall erupted into applause, and there was already a feeling that something remarkable was about to take place.

This was the moment everyone had been waiting for: The arrival of HRH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The lights dimmed, the great man took the stage, and the Middle East learned that it was to receive the greatest gift of all: a better future for its children.

At that moment, it became clear that the World Economic Forum on the Middle East 2007 would be remembered for something other than the usual round of promises and political pitched battles. The mood became elated, and the polite hum of the Forum to that point was replaced by a vibrant buzz.

'We can make a difference' seemed to be the mantra of politicians and business leaders inspired by the generosity and forethought of Sheikh Mohammed, as he announced the $10bn foundation of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation to promote better education in the Arab world.

That atmosphere spilled into the session halls, the meeting rooms, the press rooms and even the stairwells, where men and women in suits and national dress earnestly debated the whys and wherefores of shaping the region's future. A day later, as I write and as King Abdullah II is giving an appropriately eloquent closing address, that atmosphere remains.

In a generation's time, the young people of the Middle East will read about that magic hour, when all their futures changed. I count myself fortunate that I will need no recourse to the history books - it is something that will forever be etched in my mind.

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READERS' COMMENTS

$10bn education fund
Posted by savio crasto, Dubai, UAE on Monday 21 May 2007 at 10:54 UAE time

It's a wonderful gesture of HH Sheikh Mohammed to initiate this fund to promote education in the Middle East.

However, education alone is not going to resolve the problem that the GCC countries, in particular, face. The GCC needs to work to incorporate dignity of labour as a work ethic among its population. Although I paint with a broad brush, the affluence of the past 30 years has corroded the work ethic in these countries to the extent that certain professions are considered beneath the dignity of the indigenous population.

So, considering now that in a few years' time, thanks to the educational focus created by this fund, we have thousands of graduates available for employment, my guess is almost all of them would want to work in certain professions ONLY.

The good thing about this education focus however, is that it will create a generation of youth enlightened to a world view which will in turn spur social and political change, and perhaps in the end create the right environment for balanced economic and social development.

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