Dubai: The 16th annual FIKR conference was launched in Dubai on Tuesday in the presence of the Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, along with Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, the Makkah governor and chairman of the Arab Thought Foundation. The conference is organized by the foundation and is this year titled “The repercussions of chaos and the challenges of achieving stability.” More than 600 dignitaries, decision-makers, intellectuals, researchers and experts participated in the conference. The foundation’s director general Prof. Henry Uwait spoke of the circumstances in which the conference is held, during a difficult and fateful historical moment, unprecedented in intensity and danger. Uwait stressed the interest of the Arab Thought Foundation in the affairs of the Arab world. He pointed out that “the title chosen for the conference reflects this approach and these directions. “It is reflected by referring in its first part to the reality we are living, and in its second part to nature of the conference that looks forward. This insists on the need to get out of the dark tunnel of chaos and achieve stability.”  “Turbulent conditions and widespread pests are more prominent and deadly in some of our nations and societies,” Uwait said. Al-Maktoum said in the opening session: “The conference discusses stability and how to achieve it. It is a combination of effort, continuous work, permanent development, a never-ending evolution, a permanent movement to provide life and a continuous search for a better future for our society.” He urged the gathering to use their knowledge and efforts in the development of societies and the resumption of the Arab civilization. Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul-Gheit underlined that the “global system is going through an unprecedented state of liquidity and competition. It is getting closer to the two main players. This will lead to uncertainty when it comes to all the international interactions and relations. “We are getting closer to a situation where old runes are diminishing, and no news ones are put in their place,” he added. “The preparation of Arab youth so they can deal with the reality and the requirements of the fourth industrial revolution is at the heart of the tasks that leaders of thoughts, politics, society and economy in the Arab world should undertake.”