strategic region is the center of the longest lasting crisis in modern history, the Arab Israeli conflict. * I need not stress the significance of the region in the Islamic world, whose future relations with the west are of vital and critical importance to the world of today. * Add to all of that the undeniable effects of the new world order characterized by uni-polarity, economic globalization, and the emerging powers of Asia and you will appreciate how difficult it is to isolate the Gulf by prismatic view of its security. Alas .. These various causes for the strategic significance of our region do not guarantee the achievement of security and stability. More often than not, the strategic significance of the Gulf region has caused not only fears, anxieties, and concerns to the people of the region, and even to the world at large , but also has been the stage for actual conflicts and major upheavals. Thus there is an urgent need for a collective effort aimed at developing a new and more solid framework for Gulf security. Allow me to share with you some initial remarks on that subject. --More 2244 Local Time 1944 GMT
