Reform and dialogue are the cornerstones of Bahrain's mission to meet modern-day challenges, His Majesty King Hamad told the world on Thursday in his historic speech to the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

His Majesty stressed that Bahrain had consistently, throughout its long history, built its values and progress on consensus of its people.

'There is no doubt that the world is now entering a new era of important changes, in which the growth of modern means of communication has led to rapid and unprecedented transformations in the world such as those we are now experiencing in our Arab region,' said His Majesty.

'More than a decade ago, we in the Kingdom of Bahrain recognised the need to proceed towards greater reform and improvement, keeping in mind the supreme interest of our people, to satisfy their demands for freedom, democracy and political participation; a home-grown participation, according to the evolution of each country and its history.

'Reform also aimed to provide decent living conditions, security and tranquillity in a society of peaceful coexistence, equality, equal opportunities for empowerment to achieve justice and sustainable development for all.'

He went on to emphasise Bahrain's respect for the approach of dialogue.

'Building on the consensus of the people of Bahrain around the principles of National Action Charter of 2001, we initiated the National Dialogue process involving all sectors and components of the population.

'The aim is to take on board the requirements of modern progress, to guarantee the continuation of the reform process, to fulfil the national aspirations of moving forward towards comprehensive modernisation and to enhance popular participation in decision making within an all inclusive national partnership. We hereby reaffirm our support for the outcome of the Dialogue

'The achievements of the Kingdom of Bahrain at the national level are therefore an extension of a long history dating back to the beginnings of the last century, in which we have worked to achieve a society based on justice, equality, transformation and openness.

'Our people's authenticity, our culture, our free economy, political development, and commitment to the universal principles of human rights and peaceful coexistence and respect for the views of others, constitute the real wealth of the country, which we preserve and sustain for future generations,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service