AL JUBEIR HITS OUT AT ‘FORCES OF DARKNESS’
▶ Saudi foreign minister says Middle East conflict is now being driven by Iran rather than by outside powers
Iran has been the main force for instability in the Middle East over the past 50 years, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir told the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain yesterday.
Mr Al Jubeir painted a bleak modern history of the region, pointing to conflicts and war across the past five decades that led to the rise of terrorist groups and civil strife.
“The only difference is that the conflicts today are driven by regional actors bent on changing the regional order rather than outside powers trying to dominate the Middle East,” he said.
This led to the Middle East facing two competing visions – one of light and one of darkness.
“One is what we stand for in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries and the other is what Iran stands for,” Mr Al Jubeir said.
He said there was an alternative to a dark future that seeks to spread sectarianism, encourage terrorism and dominate and destabilise other countries.
“There’s a focus on economic growth and diversification, there’s a focus on innovation, technology, efficiency,” Mr Al Jubeir said.
“There’s a focus on youth and empowering women, there’s a focus on creating transparent accountable efficient governments that can provide a better future for our citizens.
“So we are going through a challenging period in the Middle East but it is not more challenging than what we went through 30, 40 or 50 years ago.
“The challenges we face are surmountable and we will – with wise leadership, perseverance and a pragmatic, proportional and rational approach – overcome them as we have overcome past problems.”
Mr Al Jubeir said he had no concern about the future of the region because “light always triumphs over darkness”. He believes the Middle East “will end up in a better place – a more prosperous, more peaceful place”.
Although he expressed confidence that the challenges would be overcome, he ended his address with the poignant question of “how do we deal with the forces of darkness, how do we push back against them and how do we persuade them to evolve into something else, or how do we defeat them?”
Mr Al Jubeir was asked about changing regional relationships and the wider world with relation to Israel and the US.
The Saudi foreign minister said that his country still saw the principles of the Beirut conference in 2002, which called for Israel to withdraw from occupied Palestinian territory and allow a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, as the prerequisite for peace and normalised ties.
Regarding the US, Mr Al Jubeir said that the relationship was ironclad and had enjoyed many successes even if it had also suffered some knocks over the years.
“The 1970s oil embargo and 9/11 was a shock to the relationship but we always go back, roll up our sleeves, work at it and make sure the relationship comes out stronger than before,” he said.