Sunni volunteer fighters parade in Khalidiya, 100 kilometers west of Baghdad, as they prepare to support Iraqi security forces in liberating the city of Ramadi from Daesh militants on Oct. 10, 2015.

There can only be security and economic development in the region once Arabs stop fighting each other, said Prince Turki Al-Faisal.

Speaking at the Beirut Institute Summit in Abu Dhabi, Prince Turki, who is a board member of the institute, said that wars were “tearing the region apart.”

“The summit is the beginning of the … stage where we need to learn from past lessons to face the grave challenges that stand before us.” Arabs must use their common heritage and culture to unify rather than seek divisions, said Prince Turki, who has held several top positions locally and abroad for Saudi Arabia.

Sultan bin Saeed Al-Mansouri, UAE economy minister, said the event was important because it focused on tackling the most pressing regional problems through constructive dialogue.

He said current challenges facing the region include fluctuating oil prices and the slow growth of the global economy, which has affected countries to various degrees and seen governments reformulate their priorities.

Al-Mansouri said the situation was particularly serious in the Arab region because of local and international economic and political factors. He proposed that countries in the region follow the model currently employed by the UAE.

Over 120 international and regional personalities attended the summit, including several former heads of governments and current and former ministers, in addition to experts from the region, US, Europe, Russia, China, South America and Africa.

The attendees included Abdullatif Rashid Al-Zayani, GCC secretary-general; Jan Eliasson, UN deputy secretary-general; Amr Mousa, ex-secretary-general of the Arab League; and Iraqi politician Barham Saleh.

Daesh militants ride in a convoy through Raqqa city in Syria on a road leading to Iraq.

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