Gulf States Public Diplomacy Conference Wraps Up In Katara 

Doha, February 20 (QNA) - The activities of the 'Public Diplomacy in the Arab Gulf States: Policies and Practices' conference concluded Monday at the Cultural Village Foundation (Katara)'s Drama Theater. Organized by Katara Public Diplomacy Center (KPDC) in cooperation with Qatar University (QU)'s Gulf Studies Center, the two-day conference witnessed the presentation of 30 papers and working papers on the new trends and practices of public diplomacy, as well as its overlaps with other fields such as culture, education, health, sports, humanitarian and relief aid. The conference also reviewed the Qatari experience in public diplomacy and its modern methods in the Arab Gulf states. In a press statement, Secretary-General of the Global Public Diplomacy Network (GPDNet) and CEO of the Katara Public Diplomacy Center Eng. Darwish Ahmed Al Shaibani said the research presented during the conference by international researchers and experts highlighted public diplomacy achievements in the State of Qatar and the Arab Gulf states, with a review of the strategies on which public diplomacy is based and the extent of its effectiveness and impact on official roles to achieve the goals of states' foreign policies. Public diplomacy took a prominent, distinguished and influential place in the State of Qatar's strategy , not only for its consistency with the country's directions, interests and its important role in strengthening relations with other countries, but also for meeting the interests of peoples, achieving their aspirations and contributing to the development of societies, as it dealt with integrity and impartiality in its public diplomacy applications, Al Shaibani added. He added that public diplomacy does not only fall within the framework of providing humanitarian and relief aid to afflicted and affected countries, but also by giving public diplomacy a renewed content, reflected in cultural exchange programs, bridging differences, promoting understanding and building bridges of communication between peoples. Director of the Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University, Prof. Mahjoob Al Zweiri said that the working papers and research presented at the conference focused on studying the development of public diplomacy in the Arab Gulf states and the policies and practices it practically implements in its political, cultural, economic and humanitarian aid fields, indicating that the conference managed to shed light on the roles played by the Gulf countries in public diplomacy and their implementation of targeted plans and programs, research and studies. Public diplomacy aims at the human being by focusing on the human being and meeting his needs in public health, education, facing poverty, combating diseases, or providing academic programs for students and aid for the needy, in addition to empowering countries to achieve peace and stability, Al Zweiri said, pointing out that international cooperation in providing the Covid-19 vaccines embodied the real practice of public diplomacy and its role in dealing with real medical crises. (MORE)