Ambassador Lukman Faily recently traveled to New York where he had speaking engagements, roundtable discussions and conversations with the Muslim community on the latest developments in Iraq.
H.E. Ambassador Faily was a guest speaker at the ‘Center for Global Affairs’ on the program “Global Leaders: Conversations with Alon Ben-Meir” at New York University’s School of Professional Studies. The Global Leaders series events offer the public an opportunity to engage with top policy-makers, officials, and influential thinkers from around the world in an intimate and informal setting. In these sessions, which attract crowds from academia, media, and the general public, Dr. Alon Ben-Meir and distinguished guests discuss critical issues facing the international community.
The conversation with His Excellency spanned the latest development on ISIS and the root causes. Other areas covered were: polarization in Iraq; Iraq with the new Prime Minister; why Iraq faces international terrorists coming from all walks of life; the Arab spring phenomenon; concepts of oil sharing; and the relationship with neighboring countries.
H.E. also joined a round-table discussion with foreign affairs expert and fellows at The Century Foundation think tank. His Excellency updated the attendees on the expansion of ISIS and how the international community and the government of Iraq face an extremist threat in the heart of the Middle East. Furthermore, the Ambassador illustrated the current offensive against ISIS and the challenges facing the Iraqi government. H.E. explained how the new agenda of the Iraqi Prime Minister is looking to resolve these issues.
Ambassador Faily concluded his visit to New York with an open Q&A session for the general public and Muslim community on Iraqi affairs in combating ISIS; followed by a round-table with various society leaders of the community.