Diplomatic World_nummer 55

© Embassy of Qatar
As an Ambassador, as a Diplomat and even as
a student you have extensive experience with
Germany, France, Greece, Switzerland, but
also with the USA and China. How did you
experience the fact that our world is becoming
a global village?
Travelling to all of these countries was a great opportunity
to identify the characteristics of each country. But as
you know, no country is an isolated island. Due to better
and faster development of communication the world is
shrinking. The explosion of scientific knowledge and
technological applications has made the world a global
village. Therefore, the Global Village concept can be
conceived as part of a larger effort to make coexistence a
realistic prospect for the future of the whole world, through
sharing the life experiences and through contacts with
the others. In another sense, we can call it the concept of
an interactive world because of the rapid development of
modern technology.
I don’t mind the idea of transforming the world into
a global village. However, it has to be done by sharing
present resources, ensuring peaceful coexistence and using
education to install self-esteem, openness and mutual
respect.
The first step to make this concept a reality is to bring
people together and by building knowledge and appreciation
for each other through direct contacts in an atmosphere of
mutual trust. This involves making all parties feel that their
values are understood and their identity is not endangered.
If we can neutralize these perceptions of fear, we can
listen and be taught about the culture of the other. At that
moment, coexistence is possible.
We could banish borders between countries, but it’s very
hard to cancel specificities. In Qatar, we are open to the
other and to new ideas, but at the same time we are also
keen to preserve our traditions and our own culture to
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