16th Al Jazeera Forum addresses 'Shifting dynamics in Middle East'

The 16th Al Jazeera Forum kicked off Saturday in Doha under the title ‘From the War on Gaza to Change in Syria: Shifting Dynamics in the Middle East’. The two-day forum will include in-depth discussions through a series of sessions and events with the participation of experts and officials from all over the world. The forum will examine the geopolitical transformations in the Middle East.

Starting with the repercussions of the Israeli war on Gaza, through the reshaping of the political scene in Syria after the fall of the Assad regime, it will also address the repercussions of these developments on the regional balance of power and their implications for the Arab situation and regional and international alliances in the region.

HE Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer al-Thani, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al Jazeera Media Network, opened the forum’s activities. During his speech at the opening session, he said that the forum focuses on important topics that concern our Arab region and the world as a whole. Noting that on this date last year, the focus of the forum’s previous edition was what was happening in Gaza and the consequences of the Al-Aqsa Flood events. “Consequences that were reflected on the region in general, including what we saw in the collapse of the regime in Syria and many other major challenges that we are currently seeing, such as displacement attempts and other changes in the region.”

He added that, “it is expected that we will see transformations in the coming period if correct decisions are not taken to deal with these changes, which we are meeting today in the forum to discuss and shed light on."

He added that today we stand at the end of 15 months of aggression on Gaza, during which Al Jazeera Channel made many sacrifices, as the channel was keen to be in the eye of the event, whether in Gaza, Lebanon or Syria, and was keeping up with the event and made many sacrifices of martyrs and wounded, whom we remember today with all goodness.”

HE Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer continued that with regard to the Syrian issue, Al Jazeera was present in the heart of the event and has witnessed the sacrifice of many martyrs since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution to convey the truth, which confirms the sincerity of the channel’s approach in working to support the truth and carry out its message. He touched on what is currently happening in the West Bank and Jerusalem, where Al Jazeera offices were closed, while they are doing a noble work to help our brothers in Palestine and convey the reality they live in. Noting that it seems that there are people who do not know the truth of the work of a journalist who seeks to shed light on the truth.

HE Sheikh Hamad stressed that the number of journalists killed in the past year, especially in Gaza, is a very large number. Especially during wars, reporting from conflict zones can cost them their lives at some point, as has actually happened with many of them for the sake of their mission and noble work. He paid glowing tributes to the journalists who laid down their lives in the line of duty.

He stressed that there are many questions about the future of the region that the forum will discuss, in Arab world in particular and the world in general, as there is rich material to enhance the dialogue and provide a detailed vision of what matters to the peoples of the region. The forum’s activities during the first day included many sessions, comprising a session dedicated to the challenges of the post-war in Gaza, a session dedicated to discussing regime change in Syria and its regional effects. The sessions also looked at the positions of Iran, Israel and Turkiye in light of the Arab absence, in addition to a session dedicated to future arrangements for the Palestinian issue and the region after the war.

The sessions of the second day will include a discussion of transitional justice in post-conflict countries, monitoring the impact of the war in Ukraine and changes in the US administration on international relations.

In addition to a special purpose for the film “Eyes of Gaza”, followed by a discussion on the global protest and solidarity movement with the Palestinian issue, before concluding the forum with a closing speech summarizing the most prominent visions and outcomes.