Middle East in a Transforming Global Order
Wednesday, 16 April 2025
Excellency Prime Minister Mohamed Shia Al-Sudani
Excellency President of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani
Excellency Dr. Barham Salih Chairman of the Board of Directors of the University
Mr. Ammar Al-Hakim
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen
Dear brother Bafel Talabani
Greetings,
I join you in (Sulaymaniyah Forum) on behalf of the United Nations Secretary-General, who thanks you for this invitation wishing you a fruitful, constructive, and in-depth discussions and dialogue on the situation in the Middle East and on Iraq present and future.
I would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to the sponsors and local partners for Sulaymaniyah Forum, in particular, His Excellency Dr. Barham Salih as well as Dr. Bilal, for facilitations that shall contribute to and facilitate participation in the Forum in the arms of this beautiful, historical and hospitable city: Sulaymaniyah. I would like here to express my admiration of the quote by Mr. Hoshyar Zebari that this forum is the Davos of the Middle East.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In the Middle East, we have a recurring habit of beginning speeches by declaring that the times we live in are unprecedented, but the past few years were difficult in the Middle East region and on the people of the whole region in all sense of the word unfortunately. This leads us to ask three questions: First: Why is that? Second: Is there a peculiarity about the Middle East that makes it different from other parts of the world? And the most important and significant question: Is there a chance to change such a reality towards a secure and stable Middle East? We are not in the right time or place to answer these questions, despite their importance.
I will say in English what…