Crown Prince attends Egypt-hosted youth forum on behalf of King

AMMAN — HRH Crown Prince Hussein on Saturday attended the plenary session of the World Youth Forum in Sharm Al Sheikh, deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah.

More than 5,000 young men and women from 160 countries attended the event, according to a Royal Court statement.

On the sidelines of the gathering, the Crown Prince met with participating   Jordanian youth, who acquainted him with the discussions they were due to partake in as part of their participation in the four-day forum.  

The forum is a platform established by a group of young Egyptians last year to discuss issues of concern and put forward suggestions and initiatives in the presence of world leaders and influential international figures. 

This year, young participants will discuss with the decision makers the edition’s theme: peace, creativity and development, according to the statement. 

The opening ceremony was attended by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Councillor to the Saudi King and Emir of Mecca Prince Khalid Al Faisal, the Bahraini King’s representative for charity and youth issues and president of the Bahrain Olympic Committee and Bahrain’s Higher Council of Youth and Sports Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and Ruler of Sharjah and member of the Federal Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi.

In a brief opening speech, Sisi welcomed the attendees and the participating youth, and pointed out that Egypt and the world reject extremism, terrorism and discrimination, noting the efforts his country is exerting to combat radical groups.

The opening ceremony included several speeches delivered by youth participants from different countries, who stressed the need for empowering youth, supporting their creative skills and enhancing their role in the sustainable development and decision-making processes. 

Participants highlighted the importance of enhancing the youth’s role in creating positive change in their communities, reaffirming the need to promote the values of tolerance and acceptance of the others to fight terrorism and extremism. 

The forum’s sessions focus on youth issues such as rebuilding countries and communities in the aftermath of wars and conflicts, world leaders’ role in achieving peace, international community commitment to providing humanitarian aid, fighting terrorism and extremism, community-oriented voluntary work, artificial intelligence, the role of art in building communities and ways to build future leaders.