Doha – Dialogue is the ideal way to settle conflicts and resolve regional and international crises, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said at the opening of the 17th Doha Forum.

He stressed that the world now needs more than anytime else to join efforts and work hard in the aim of going through a deep dialogue, spreading the culture of peace and ostracizing violence and extremism.

Attendants of the forum, under the theme “Development, Stability and Refugee Crisis,” included Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri and Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire.

“Millions of refugees have fled their countries to escape oppression, persecution and natural disasters in search of a better life,” he said.

An increase in conflicts has led to the displacement of millions worldwide, which means millions of stories of suffering that cannot be measured quantitatively, said the emir. This increases the international community’s responsibility to find just, sustainable solutions to these conflicts, he added.

Qatar’s emir also cited the displacement of the Palestinian people in 1948, and that of about 10 million within Syria in the current time.

“People have resorted to other regions or countries to protect their children from indiscriminate bombing, collective punishment, the brutality of forces and allied militias, and the repressive behavior of extremist movements that have imposed themselves on the just Syrian people’s revolution,” Al Thani said.

He called for “a political solution that achieves justice for the Syrian people, who have experienced the worst because they dared to aspire to freedom and justice. The Syrian regime has displaced its people and changed its demographic structure instead of changing itself.”

Qatar’s emir pointed out that terrorism and extremism are an international phenomenon not linked to a specific nation or religion and is a threat to security and stability in the Middle East and the world.