The Address of
Bahia Al-Hariri,
Member of Lebanese Parliament

In the name of God the most merciful and beneficent.

I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UCLA Center for International Relations for this kind invitation and opportunity to join you in this conference which narrowing the relations between the presence and the future and representing an objective participation in the process of progress and prosperity in the area which desired by its leaders and nations of the area.

I always carry the concerns of the Lebanese people and it’s unique experience in looking for the ways of progress and prosperity and in opening the future horizons in most difficult and sophisticated circumstances for thirty years.

In this occasion, I would like to thank the leaders and people of the State of Qatar for their welcoming and generosity.

The last quarter of the previous century had witnessed a great development of outreach and interaction process between the worlds' nations. On the other side great distance and gap took place between the states and the nations. The communication revolution which changed the world into small village has shown a great difference between progressive and rich societies and the poor societies. Thinkers and intellectuals did their best to diagnose the both cases, the outreach, communication and the distance. The concepts and ideas aiming at filling the gap and deepen the communication have started to take different forms and patterns. In this process, many countries, local, regional and international institutions have participated making the development as a wide  frame for their work, program, research, conferences, summits until they have become the basic point for dialogue and work. Conceptions and definitions of development have developed and diversified. Despite this diversification which made standard for development definition, the economic growth has remained a common and basic factor in all conceptions and definitions.

Before; the conception of development according to the common international definition was the growth in per capital income in the economically underdeveloped areas, the conception has developed to include the quality of people life from the Cultural and social points of view. The  conception has developed to include the environmental life until the international summits have come to concentrate on poverty, sustainment, enabling, equality, partnership and rights with spreading of poverty, pollution and the gaps between the rich and the poor. This made the re-thinking in developmental process is a must.., to take from the economic development process and the increase of general production operation to be reflected as development in the individual's income with supporting the man effective liberty to follow his progress and prosperity, that means the interference of Culture  and Economy in the development process. There is a conception where the Culture does not play a basic role but it is a method helping in the Economic growth. In the other conception, the concept of Culture can not be only Judged as a tool for strengthening the economic growth as a desired goal in itself which is giving meaning to our existence.

Therefore, we can apply the double role of the culture not only in the content of enhancing the economic growth but also for other goals such as supporting the physical environment, maintenance of family values and the protection of civil and the social institutions.

We need – from this humble presentation on the problem of development conception evolution – to confirm that we couldn't until now to root firm and comprehensive rules for developmental process between the human development, international development and sustainable development, but we can stop at the common links of development as a process aiming at improving the quality of life for all humankind. There are three aspects of development equal in importance :

1-         Rising the living standard of societies through increasing their incomes, level of consumption, medical and educational services. This matter takes place through the provision of economic development related to basic goals of the development.

2-         Finding and developing the circumstances helping the growth of the man – self esteem through fair systems and social, political and economical institutions that encouraging the human dignity and respect.

3-         Increasing the people liberty through the expansion of their choice fields. In the beginning of the third millennium. This was recently summarized in the term of enhancing the conception of partnership which has taken the lead among modern developmental concepts released by international documents of the united nations and the world financing institutions. This partnership was specified in the three elements : governments , private sector, and Civil community institutions. Such partnership should be existent on the relations of cooperation, coordination and alliance based on the concept of equality between parties in which each party shall provide human, physical or technical resources leading to realization of developmental objectives.

Dear presence,

In our area, when we talk about economic, social or cultural development we can not ignore an important and basic factor which is the stability. We can not construct any developmental horizon in an unstable vibrant world exposed periodically to great and destructive shakes which ruin the stability and waste our physical and human resources. We don't need to determine or describe such shakes. The destructive conflict continues for more than fifty years is tearing our area as well as the major wars took place here and there. For example, the gulf area which forms for Arabian societies an economic upgrade and house for human and scientific talents was exposed to three major wars during a period not exceeding 25 years. Societies were utterly destroyed Lebanon which forms – for long decades – a model of progress, opening, liberty was exposed to occupation, destruction and internal wars. Before this black and painful image we can see the strong will of our governments, nations to stand up and develop and open the horizons of the future. If we take the poor percentages of growth as well as the costs of conflicts we can find that there is a solid will and creative power to confront the challenges and there is an intention for progress and prosperity. Therefore the stability for building comprehensive and effective developmental process at all levels must be enhanced.

We see that the building of modern state based on partnership between government, private sector and civil community is the way for economic and social progress. Here we should give the wise and developed leadership  a basic role in leading this progress in order that the relationship among the three parties based on the concept of equality and non – dominance of one party on the other local, regional and international experiences must be taken into consideration because the partnership process is an integrated process between the parties resources in order to employ this partnership for realizing developmental goals equally between the state, private sector and the Civil community. Each of the tri-parties must adopt a clear concept on such partnership and crystallize his own view on the development in general and on this role and the role of the other two partners based on their inter-integration with confessing the special role of each partner.

Based on this concept, a general approach on the integrated roles required by the three partners can be presented:

In the first class:

 The state: No alternative for its institutions, systems for drawing the general frame of development in the country, also to put legislations and laws. The basic role of the state includes the developmental process general, planning, and to guarantee the minimum limit of balance in representing the interests of the different groups of populations and groups of interest, as well as providing the minimum limit of social interference.

The private sector:

Its basic responsibility focused in motivating the general economic growth of the country and encourage the investment for creating productive work opportunities for young people. This sector generally is still on the margin of the developmental process up to date. It can not bear its social responsibility as required.

The civil sector:

It also has roles and responsibilities varying from the social assistance for most needy categories and finding areas of participation, enabling and decentralization to the local development reaching to the effective participation in formulating sectorial parties and general development. In some aspects this sector also participates in objective activities at the regional and international level. The work of civil sector includes the direct interventions, calling, awareness and forming the groups of negotiations and pressure as well as multiple forms of field work.

We are looking forward to build local and regional developmental institutions that can read the future and survey the human and physical energies. The process of prosperity requires good employment of human powers and natural resources in timely and accurate calculated timetable because the good use of time is not less in importance than the good use of human and natural resources.

I thank you for your listening. I wish I would have the chance to talk about real and leading experiences that we had the honor to share or follow. I call for the organization of the relationship between the partners of development in our area such as; international institutions, financing institutions, Arabian and Islamic funds, research centers in order to produce integrated developmental landscape which forms the base for comprehensive prosperity dreamt by our nations. I am confident that our nations are capable to stand up and build the safe, stable and prosperous future.