Amir attends opening of Paris Peace Forum
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani yesterday attended the opening of Paris Peace Forum, held at the Grand Halle de la Villette in Paris, at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron.
The session was attended by a number of heads of state and government, heads of delegations and a number of representatives of international organisations and civil society.
The Paris Peace Forum, conceived by Macron, is intended to highlight the importance of international institutions in helping resolve conflicts, avert wars and spread prosperity.
Macron opened the inaugural Paris Peace Forum, which seeks to promote a multilateral approach to security and governance and ultimately avoid the errors that led to the outbreak of World War I.
The aim of the forum, organised to coincide with the global commemorations marking 100 years since the end of World War I, is to show that there are lots of forces in the international system — states, NGOs, foundations, intellectuals, companies — who believe we need a world of rules, an open world and a multilateral world, chief organiser Justin Vaisse told AFP.
Merkel said the forum showed that “today there is a will, and I say this on behalf of Germany with full conviction, to do everything to bring a more peaceful order to the world, even though we know we still have much work to do.”
World leaders gathered under driving rain in Paris to lead global commemorations marking 100 years since the end of World War I, at a time of growing nationalism and diplomatic tensions.
Around 70 leaders including US and Russian Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin marked the centenary of the 1918 Armistice in the French capital at 11am local time (1000 GMT).
Macron delivered a near 20-minute speech that called on his fellow leaders not to forget the lessons of the past and the hopes of people worldwide for peace.
His Highness the Amir left the French capital yesterday evening, after taking part in the opening of Paris Peace Forum.
The Amir was accompanied by an official delegation. Pages 2, 3,19