The Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation hosted a round table of the International Project Congress "The Conflict in the Middle East: History and Modern Realities"

At the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation (Moscow, Russia), the International Project Congress organized a round table dedicated to the conflict in the Middle East. The initiative to hold such an event was made by the IPC participants from Egypt and Russia: Senator of Egypt, Secretary of the Committee on Culture, Tourism and Media Mahmoud Elkot and the head of the student platform “MosStudNauka”, Head of the Department of University Cooperation of the IPC Diana Kadyrova. The moderator of the discussion was Anna Abrazhenchik, Head of Public Diplomacy Department of the IPC, Chairman of the Perm Youth Center.

Mahmoud Elkot provided an extensive background on the history of the conflict since the mid-20th century, and also, as a senator, expressed Egypt’s official position regarding refugees from Gaza: “We have accepted and will accept Palestinians from Gaza for many years for humanitarian purposes: education, treatment, social assistance, but we are against people being forced to leave their territory forever.”

On behalf of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, Alena Bulgakova, Chairman of the Commission on Public Control and Work with Citizens' Appeals, spoke. She emphasized that civil society is closely monitoring changes in the socio-political and economic spheres on the world stage. In this regard, she is convinced that at the level of public figures and young leaders of different countries it is very important to restore and maintain interstate cooperation, based on the norms of international law.

The online speakers included experts from 12 countries around the world: Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Botswana, Ghana, Egypt, Jordan, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Pakistan, Russia and South Africa. The guests of the event were students of international faculties from leading Russian universities, they participated in the discussion along with eminent speakers.

Hum News Television journalist Syed Sibt E Hassan Rizvi (Pakistan) shared information about the protest situation in Pakistan against the backdrop of the Palestinian conflict and spoke about the humanitarian assistance being provided. As a journalist and television correspondent, he expressed concern about the current information war, as well as the deaths of journalists in the region.

Chief Operating Officer of Protibha from It's Humanity Foundation Afruza Tanzi (Bangladesh) raised the issue of boycotting Israel at international diplomatic platforms until the shelling of Palestinian civilians stops.

Policy advisor from Jordan Samia Khamis, who has Palestinian roots, called for expanding the geography and composition of discussions on the issues of the Middle East conflict to form an objective picture of the world among young people.

Founder and CEO of HIRED Consult John Aggrey from Ghana summarized the speeches of his colleagues and summed up the discussion.