By Nawab Khan
BRUSSELS, Oct 22 (KUNA) -- The Arab Planning Institute (API), based in Kuwait, has been awarded the prestigious Gold Medal by the Crans Montana Forum in recognition of its successful achievements for a more humane world.
Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders handed the medal to Dr. Bader Othman Malallah, Director General of API, at the closing ceremony of the Forum held in Brussels Friday night.
Reynders told the Forum that he was pleased to see so many people involved in the same process to face global challenges and to promote some actions to face a lot of challenges.
Jean-Paul Carteron, Chairman and Founder of Crans Montana Forum, announced that the Arab Planning Institute has been awarded the gold medal for its role in economic and social developments, capacity building, and efforts to promote regional integration in the Arab world.
Speaking to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) Dr. Malallah said that he was proud of this honor by the Crans Montana Forum.
He noted that this medal reflected the important role played by the API in supporting development in the Arab region.
He said the Kuwaiti-based Institute, established in 1966, worked in the area of capacity building, research, institutional support, consultancy, youth development, and others.
The API derived its uniqueness from being the only Arab institute that works in the field of social and economic developments at large and it used all its tools for this purpose, he noted.
The API has 19 Arab member countries. It organizes conferences and work-shops, prepares reports, and also trains around 2,000 people annually within the domains of development, social economy, and capacity building.
Meanwhile, Ali Dashti, founder and CEO of the Development Kuwaiti Union, participated in the New Leaders Initiative of the Crans Montana Forum which is focused on the youth.
Dahsti told KUNA that they will also launch the youth initiative in Kuwait next year under the patronage of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
The aim of the youth initiative is to raise awareness among the youth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region of political economic, social, and cultural issues. The initiative will be organized by API in Kuwait, he added.
Meanwhile, Crans Montana Forum's 18th annual session ended in Brussels last night. The theme of the 3-day forum was Homeland and Global Security. Participants discussed issues like women's role in global security, the fight against terrorism, migration crisis, and youth issues.
The Crans Montana Forum is a Swiss Non-Governmental International Organization established since 1986 with the aim to build a more Humane and Impartial World and encourage international cooperation and overall growth. (end) nk.gta