25/05/2015
_ He has reviewed the problems faced by region and has encouraged the participants to lead the defence of democracy, freedom and human rights
_ Twenty young people from eleven different countries will take part in the program
_ They will examine the relevance of consolidating parties and institutions and the link between the rule of law, freedom of religion and globalization
The former president of the Government and president of the FAES Foundation, José María Aznar, has welcomed this morning the participants in the third FAES Middle East and North Africa Visitor Program, with whom he has conversed and reviewed the big challenges faced by the region, and has encouraged them to lead the defence of democracy, freedom and human rights in their home countries.
Aznar has made a special reference to the civil war in Syria, the expansion of ISIS and the Iranian nuclear program as elements of increasing instability in the region. In relation to this, he has expressed “a concerned but hopeful view, if this particularly important moment is seized in order to engage in analysis, reflection and decision-making”.
The FAES Foundation holds in Madrid during this week the third edition of its Middle East and North Africa Visitor Program, in which 20 young people from eleven countries will take part. The Program is aimed at fostering the support and the strengthening of those movements demanding democratic reforms, equal opportunities and respect for human rights across the countries of the region.
Participants are young politicians, economists, activists, journalists and executives from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Autonomous Region of Kurdistan (Iraq), Lebanon, Morocco, Mauritania, Palestinian Territories and Turkey. During their stay in Madrid they will take part in conferences and discussions with different personalities devoted to issues such as the strengthening of political parties and institutions in the Arab region; the link between the Rule of Law, freedom of religion and globalization; the example set by the Spanish democratic Transition; the foreign and cooperation policies of the European Union and Spanish in the MENA region and the geo-strategic implications of the Arab and European demography.
The Middle East and North Africa Visitor Program is sponsored by the Secretary of State for International Cooperation and Ibero-America and is part of the activities that the Foundation annually holds for the promotion of democracy and consolidation of human tights in the world. Another of its goals is to show how the Spanish political, institutional and economic system works and to train in the exercise of leadership.