This symposium has discussed the prospects for peace in the Middle East following the normalization of Arab-Israel relations and opportunities for cooperation in building a comprehensive and lasting peace and security in the region that meets its people’s aspirations for security stability and development.

The symposium comprised two sessions. The first session – World Peace Day: An Opportunity to Overcome the Legacy of Conflict – discussed the importance of peace as a key to stability, development, and prosperity and highlighted renewed hope for peace and stability in light of the new developments in the Middle East.

The second session – Arab-Israeli Peace Agreements: New Vision for a Lasting Peace in the Middle East – underlined the new vision for building peace in the region, focusing on the new Arab perspective, the Israeli, and the US-European perspective.

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Symposium topics:

Topic 1: World Peace Day: An Opportunity to Overcome the Legacy of Conflict

• Peace as key to stability, development, and prosperity
• Historical experiences in overcoming conflicts and achieving peace (Europe, the Balkans, Japan).
• Middle East conflicts and renewed hope for peace and stability
• Prospects and Opportunities for Peace in the Middle East: The Case of New Treaties

Topic 2: Arab-Israeli Peace Agreements: New Vision for a Lasting Peace in the Middle East

• The new Arab perspective
• The Israeli Perspective
• The American-European Perspective

Topic 3: Peace in the Middle East: Prospects for Cooperation and Opportunities for Prosperity

• New opportunity to settle the Palestinian issue
• Promising prospects for enhancing bilateral and regional cooperation
• Fostering a culture of tolerance, peaceful coexistence, and rejection of hate in the region

Topic 4: The Role of the Media in Building a Culture of Peace in the Region

• The new peace agreements: An opportunity to present “the other Israel” to the Arabs as an advanced country
• The UAE-Israel peace agreement: An Israeli window into the UAE as a successful Arab model
• The role of media in making new generations believe in a future of cooperation and peaceful coexistence

Keynote Remarks
Mr. Hamad Al-Kaabi	Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al-Ali
Editor-in-Chief, Alittihad Newspaper – UAE	Director-General , TRENDS Research & Advisory – UAE

Session 1

Moderator

Michal Divon

News Anchor and Reporter  – USA

Speakers
Dr. Marc Gopin	Dr. Kristian Alexander	Ambassador William Rugh	Abdulla Al-Junaid
Director of the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution , George Mason University – USA	Researcher at TRENDS Research & Advisory – UAE	Visiting Professor of Public Diplomacy at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy – USA	Bahraini writer and political analyst , Bahrain

Ahdeya Ahmed	Dr. phil Iyad Al-Dajani	Yigal Carmon	Prof. Yossi Mekelberg
Chairman of the Board of Directors Bahraini Journalists Association – Bahrain	Fellow Researcher at the Jena Center for reconciliation studies, International Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa – Germany	President and Founder Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) – Israel	Senior Consulting Research Fellow, MENA Programme, Chatham House Head of International Relations, Social Sciences and Law Programme Regent’s University – UK

Session 2

Moderator

Ambassador Ahmed Al Hosani

Ambassador – UAE

Speakers
Ghaith Al-Omari	Dr. Geoffrey Kemp	Corey Gil-Shuster	Neta Livne	Omar Al Busaidy
Senior fellow, The Washington Institute Former Executive Director, American Task Force on Palestine – USA	Senior Director of Regional Security Programs Center for the National Interest – USA	Director at International Program in Conflict Resolution and Mediation, Tel Aviv University – Israel	Editor-in-chief Yedioth Ahronoth – Israel	Author and International Affairs Analyst – UAE