Third Meeting of the Helsinki Policy Forum, Helsinki 17th - 19th March 2015

The third meeting of the Helsinki Policy Forum was held, 17th - 19th March, in Helsinki with the kind support of the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.The Helsinki Policy Forum brings together senior parliamentarians/political leaders, government officials, and financial experts from across the Western and Muslim and Arab worlds.  The aim of the Forum is to provide a space and network for an open, informed and confidential dialogue on the political and economic challenges and opportunities facing the MENA/Gulf region and their potential impact on international relationships.Discussions at the Forum focused on analysing the current situation within the MENA region, identifying the key challenges (at both the macro level and within specific countries such as Tunisia or Libya) and then exploring how these might be addressed. In particular participants were asked to think about: what are the areas where improved cooperation between MENA-Gulf countries would contribute to bringing more stability to the MENA-Gulf region? What are the minimum requirements for improved cooperation between the leading countries of the region? Is it possible to identify areas where European countries could support such cooperation? Are there areas where European support would be counter-productive?In addition to the formal meeting of the Forum, several participants were asked to participate at an event organised by the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. This included Amel Azzouz, (Secretary of State to the Minister of Development, Investment and International Cooperation of Tunisia); Dr Sajjadpour (Advisor in Strategies, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Iran); Osman Faruk Loğoğlu, (Member of Parliament, Republican People’s Party, Turkey); and Amr El Shobaki (former member of parliament and Head of the Arab European unit in Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Egypt). Discussions at this event explored the question: Challenges and Opportunities in the Middle East's Transformation. More information can be found at: http://www.fiia.fi/en/event/737/c/ 

Osman Faruk Logoglu speaking at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (Photo: Tuukka Niemi)