Hamad bin Jassim participates in Bali democracy forum

Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani on Thursday took part in the opening session of the 4th Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) on the level of the foreign ministers of Asian countries and the participation of 66 countries and international organizations in Nusa Dua in the Indonesian island of Bali. Indonesia President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Prime Ministers of Bangladesh, The Philippines and Mongolia, and the Presidents of Sri Lanka and East Timor were present in the session. Members of the official delegation accompanying HE the Premier and Foreign Minister attended the session. HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani delivered a speech in which he expressed great pleasure to take part in the Forum, and profound thanks and appreciation, in the name of the State of Qatar, to the Government and friendly people of Indonesia for the warm reception and generous hospitality. HE the Premier said that the convening of the fourth session of this forum under the motto: "Democratic participation", highlights the utmost importance of this pivotal issue and how to promote it in a very close and changing world. It further underlines the pressing need for processes of comprehensive political reform, whose success is pinged on paying greater attention to human beings, guarantee their rights and develop their intellectual capabilities which enable them to identify these rights. "We, in the State of Qatar, endeavor diligently to expand the base of participation as an outgrowth of the reform project initiated by His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, upon his accession to power in 1995. The project included, inter alia, a series of steps which created the favorable climate for the promotion of such participation," HE the Premier said. "Since the very beginning, the State of Qatar adopted a gradual approach that matches the conditions in the country, with a view to ensuring stability and gearing the country towards success. This was preceded by undertaking several measures which contributed to the success of this experience, including the cancellation of the Ministry of Information, lifting censorship from the press, conducting municipal elections and the adoption of the permanent Constitution by means of A popular Referendum as well as the issuance of HH the Emir's Decision to conduct the Advisory Council's elections in mid-2013. All such factors helped our own experience to materialize and become a reality," HE the Premier added. HE the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister noted that the Arab region is undergoing a very important stage of its history. It is witnessing  rapid and deep transformations, where all people call for reform and seek to realize it by different means and avenues. Such transformations, though seem at first to be economic ones, the political participation, however, underpin them and appear to be the real motive and objective behind them. "This further underscore the magnitude of keenness we all attach to the promotion of this participation and the need to streamline it in the light of the new political developments and changes as well as the aggravating global crises that are currently sweeping the world and their adverse repercussions on the Arab state of affairs which require caution, initiation of solutions and deduction of remedies," HE the Premier underlined. HE the Premier highlighted that the processes of comprehensive political reform are a necessity in order to step up the tempo of engaging greater numbers in the making of decisive decisions which are associated with the life of peoples, "This cannot be achieved in the Arab region unless we embark on developing institutions which ensure the expansion of such participation, together with developing the human knowledge. Moreover, all aspects and domains of human development must be included in these processes, with particular emphasis on the youth sectors, the new force on the Arab political scene," HE noted. HE the Premier said that the first outgrowth of the Arab revolutions has been the positive inclination towards democratization. Thus, the Tunisian Republic, which was the vanguard of these Arab revolutions, witnessed its first pluralistic, fair and transparent elections; the first phase of representative elections in Egypt was conducted peacefully and witnessed a matchless turnover; the Libyan experiment is developing in the same direction. "Since the very beginning, the State of Qatar has been taking the side of Arab peoples' demands for reform. Qatar could not stand aloof watching these peoples being brutally repressed for merely demanding to be given their legitimate rights. The State of Qatar, therefore, took the initiative and provided political and moral support to the peoples of Tunisia and Egypt until their revolutions achieved victory. Qatar was the first Arab country and the second in the world to recognize the transitional Council in Libya as being the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people," HE the Premier said. "We here express our deep sorrow for the sufferings experienced by the Yemeni people in the cause of achieving their hopes and aspirations; we equally deplore the repressions and killings to which the Syrian people are exposed for committing no crime other than demanding reforms," HE the Premier underlined. HE the Premier and Foreign Minister went on saying that the Asian experience in the domain of democratization and reform deserves to be considered, with a view to learning and seeking guidance from it. It presents a clear-cut paradigm as well as in-depth and informative lessons on how to achieve successful coexistence among various ethnic groups, religions, sects and parties. It further demonstrates that whenever the practicing of democracy is sound, it will be capable of unifying sentiments, strengthening patriotism and making difference and diversity a way for achieving reconciliation, unity and innovation. "We are cognizant that the addressing of all issues and topics, contained in the themes of this forum, will prompt us to consider the political developments undergone by the whole world. It will further motivate us to earnestly think of transforming this activity and dynamism into a positive exercise, together with enhancing our preparedness to take whatever actions needed to unleash the process of comprehensive reform through embracing the best of practices," HE the Premier said. Hence, HE the Premier added, "we are here more interested in addressing the desired reform with a more precise approach and through more comprehensive methodologies that pay greater attention to social, economic and political aspects; such approaches should be more streamlined in order to render them conducive to a balanced life between the individual, community and the State, in addition to linking every policy with public interest." "Thus, we are carefully awaiting the outcome of discussions and deliberations so as to activate fruitful cooperation in all fields," HE the Premier said. Concluding, HE the Prime Minister reiterated thanks and appreciation for all those who contributed to the success of the proceedings of this forum. The 4th Bali Democracy Forum is held this year under the motto: "Enhancing Democratic Participation in a Changing World: Responding to Democratic Voices". The forum will focus on efforts towards enhancing people participation by the way of responding to democratic voices, and relevant issues involved in the process. It will mainly discuss the latest developments in the Middle East and North Africa in light of the Arab spring uprising in the region. The Indonesian government invited a number of Arab officials to attend the Forum. Bali Democracy Forum was established in December 2008. It is a forum for regional dialogue aims for the promotion and consolidation of democracy, the consolidation and dissemination of the culture of peace and democracy and its association with development processes and building democracies.