H.E Rajab Tayeb Erdrogan Prime Minister of friendly Turkey
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Respected attendance,
I have the pleasure to welcome you in Doha in the seventh session of the US-Islamic World Forum, which shall be concerned with surveying the features of the forthcoming stage of relations between the United States of America and the Islamic world.
It is oblivious that the targeted results of this session will be to move from dialogue and discussion stage to recommendations stage regarding the practical policies to be implemented to strengthen the relations between these two worlds. As I conceive, this is the required work in the current stage of the seven-year march of the Forum. In the past seven years the participants were busy researching various aspects of the relations between the United States of America and the countries and peoples of the Islamic world, in a time marred by instability due to lack of suitable policies.
The history of the relations between the United States of America and the Islamic world is not short. The points in common between the two parties are available in more than one field, besides the points of disagreement. It was essential that the policies be adopted in accordance with the objective understanding of the nature of the situations in the countries of the Islamic world in the past and at present, and the external influence on their political, economic and intellectual setting. The viable approach that may eliminate the sources of threat is to bridge the gab between the US and the Islamic world through dialogue and mutual understanding rather than conflict which does not service our common interests.
It is important to indicate that president Obama has set the basis for the relations between the United States of America and the Islamic world, particularly in relation to the Palestinian cause and the Arab Israeli conflict, as being common interests and mutual respect, as well as the fact that the United States of America and the Islamic world should neither exclude each other nor compete with each other.
This basis, which constitutes the only approach to achieve common interests, is then partnership through collaboration in solving the problems.
In this session of the Forum we should try to touch the policies that can achieve such partnership.
Our evaluation of today's realities and of the approaches to adopt to achieve this goal may differ. However, we must remember our mutual responsibilities and work to surmount all difficulties until we can honor these responsibilities. This is the only right way of achieving our common interests.
These responsibilities are not confined to the political aspect of the current conflicts in the Islamic world, where the American role is noticeable, but they also include our responsibilities towards political reform; democracy; economic and social development; controlling extremism, exclusion and terrorism; enhancing responsible information; and developing the partnerships between the governments and the civil societies in both parties. In short, we need to work to achieve effective partnership through deeds not words.
The forum this year has big questions that need answers; and I am hopeful that this high profile gathering would reach the desired conclusions.
Thank you very much.