Conferences & Meetings

A group of academics, NGO officials and diplomats from the Persian Gulf countries gathered together at Le Meridien, Limassol in Cyprus to discuss Security and Cooperation in West Asia. Eight different nationalities from the region - Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Turkey, Iran and United Arab Emirates - were represented at the meeting as were the nationalities of the permanent members of the Security Council. The three-day private gathering, organised by the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research

and the Centre for World Dialogue, took place between 27-29 May, 2000. The unofficial setting and the informal and friendly atmosphere of the meeting facilitated a frank and constructive exchange of views. Various important themes such as the link between internal and external security and ways to bring about an interdependent security system were discussed. The need for confidence-building measures was highlighted as were the commonalities that bind the people of the region together. The overwhelming feeling at the conference was that an

effective security regime for the Persian Gulf states has to be devised and maintained by the countries in the area and not be dependent on the outside powers.
The next meeting of the group will take place in Qatar in 2001.