As part of the Munich Security Conference, our Director Mayssoun Zein Al Din chaired a side event with a high-level panel on the topic of ‘Beyond Conflict. Evaluating Paths and Obstacles to Sustainable Peace in the Middle East’.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Miqati (2021 – 2025), Armin Laschet, Vice President of the Council of Europe and Member of the German Bundestag, and Dr Suzanne Maloney, Iran expert and Director of Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution, emphasised the need for regional actors to take the lead in shaping their own future, with international partners supporting sustainable solutions rather than imposing short-term solutions.

The panellists agreed that the region needs a politically comprehensive solution that not only addresses military and security issues, but also prioritises social peace, societal reconciliation and prosperity for all stakeholders. At the event, which was attended by more than 300 participants, representatives from politics, business, academia and civil society discussed concrete post-war scenarios and future prospects for promoting long-term stability and cooperation in the Middle East in a protected space.