Batool Ghaith (ABU DHABI)
Regional security, political will, stronger partnerships and the need for more resilient systems were at the centre of discussions at the TRENDS 6th Annual Conference 2026, held under the theme “Sustainable Security: The Post-War Future of the Middle East.”
Dr Mohamed Abdulla Al Ali, Chairman of TRENDS Group, said the region was facing an unprecedented period of uncertainty following the Iran war this year.
“The war has altered the regional balance of power, leading to reshaping strategic partnerships and alliance directions both within and outside the Middle East,” Al Ali said during his welcoming speech.
He said the conference would examine whether the region was moving towards a system driven by immediate national interests or towards new forms of cooperation capable of delivering sustainable strategic stability, while also considering the movement of energy, goods and capital.
Dr Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, Member of the Federal National Council and Chairman of the FNC Committee on Defence, Interior and Foreign Affairs, said the region must first address the roots of its repeated crises.
He emphasised that sustainable security cannot be built without recognising that all countries and communities in the region ultimately have to coexist. “Everyone in this region, without excluding anyone, needs to live together and learn how to build bridges of trust first, then partnerships for a better region for all,” Al Nuaimi noted.
He also stressed that security, stability and prosperity could not be achieved by individual states in isolation. “Peace is everyone’s responsibility, it will not be achieved by extraneous will imposed on the region, but will be achieved by genuine political will and a shared project to live in peace,” Al Nuaimi added.
He said countries should stop relying on blame and conspiracy theories when confronting regional challenges and instead take responsibility through transparency and accountability.
“Ultimately, the security, stability and prosperity of the UAE are our responsibility,” he said, adding that regional countries must build stronger partnerships while respecting sovereignty and national interests.
In a recorded address, Ambassador Mike Waltz, US Representative to the United Nations, said the region had entered a period in which countries were increasingly seeking stability, sovereignty, commerce and stronger partnerships.
“What comes next is a new regional order, a new Middle East. It would be built on strength, on sovereignty, on commerce, on peace,” Waltz said.
He indicated that developments of recent years had not removed the need for regional cooperation but had instead reinforced it.
Waltz also pointed to changing political and economic relationships across the Middle East, including efforts by regional governments to strengthen sovereignty, expand trade and deepen ties with international partners.
He said recent diplomatic developments showed that countries were increasingly looking towards frameworks that combined security with economic and political cooperation.
In another recorded address, Admiral Brad Cooper, Commander of US Central Command, focused on the practical foundations required to make security sustainable.
“Sustainable security is not measured by how we react in the heat of today’s crisis, it is measured by our ability to build an enduring security architecture that ensures tomorrow is more stable than today,” Cooper said.
He emphasised that sustainable security rested on three principal areas, regional partnerships, inter-operability and shared leadership. “Sustainable security is not the absence of conflict, it is having robust systems, partnerships, interoperability and shared leadership firmly in place to manage threats before they escalate into a crisis,” Cooper added.
He also said trust between partners could not be created suddenly during a crisis and instead had to be developed through sustained training, joint operations and military-to-military relationships. “Trust between partners cannot be surged during a crisis,” he noted.
He also stressed that modern threats, including advanced missiles, drones, cyberattacks and threats in space, do not respect national borders and therefore cannot always be addressed by one country acting alone.