Manama: Bahrain’s Prime Minister has warned that trans-border terrorism was the most ominous threat to human life.
“Terrorist groups and their movement across borders represent the greatest threat to global peace and security and to human existence,” Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa said. “If efforts are not brought together and determinations are not converged, all the developments and evolutions that have been achieved for humanity will be at a high risk. The international community needs to work together in order to achieve the development needed for a better world. The exacerbation of conflicts in the world has left several victims and squandered resources and energies that could have been used to serve development,” Prince Khalifa said in a message to the world marking the World Habitat Day 2014, to be observed on Monday under the theme “Voices from Slums”.
Prince Khalifa said that it was time for everyone to listen to the voice of reason and wisdom.
“It is also time to turn the pages of conflicts and destruction and start new pages of integration and cooperation, so as to achieve the aspirations of the peoples for prosperity and sustainable development in various parts of the world for the sake of future generations,” he said, quoted by Bahrain News Agency (BNA).
The Bahraini Premier said that building an international partnership was highly significant to contribute to the elimination of the existing urban inequalities between nations and peoples.
“The partnership will reduce the risk of political challenges that threaten global security and stability,” he said. “The nature of the threats that the world is confronting requires from all parties of the international community dynamic responses and futuristic looks that seek to promote urban growth in accordance with more equitable standards that help poor and needy countries,” he said.
Prince Khalifa stressed in his message that the political challenges and the chaos and lack of security in some countries represented a core challenge to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in dealing with the decline in the rates of development in these countries. The challenge is also related to how to assist such countries in recovering and in renewing the basic services that have been damaged, he added.
“Moral responsibility makes it imperative for the international community to take the initiative to develop policies that help poor countries to develop their neighborhoods and regions in accordance with the proper planning, and to improve the conditions of their people to higher living standards that empower them to have decent and comfortable lives,” he said.
