David Cameron speaks at CMEC's First Annual Gala Dinner

10th June 2008

The Conservative Middle East Council was delighted to host its first Annual Gala Dinner at the Banqueting House, Whitehall on Tuesday 10th June 2008. The event was attended by the Rt. Hon David Cameron MP, Leader of the Conservative Party, the Rt Hon William Hague, Shadow Foreign Secretary, and prominent members of Conservative Parliamentary Party and the British Arab and British Iranian business and diplomatic community.

During the champagne reception David Cameron spoke to the assembled dignitaries and guests, on the importance of the Middle East to any future Conservative Government,

I know from my own visits to the region that nothing beats seeing a country first hand and hearing from the politicians and decision-makers who live there. Recent events, not least in the war in Iraq and the ongoing Middle East Peace Process, mean that Conservatives must seek the widest perspectives in seeking to gain a grasp of Middle Eastern politics

  Mr Cameron went on to talk about the challenges facing the region and the approach that a Conservative Government would take.

First, on the Middle East, I want any Government I lead to be one that fully grasps the importance of the region, the need to understand its politics and know its history, with which so much of our own is intertwined. No region of the world is more multi-layered and challenging to understand than the Middle East. It is, both geographically and psychologically, at the heart of the world........Conflicts and tensions in the Middle East reverberate around the globe: not just the Arab-Israeli conflict, where Britain must energetically support the search for a solution that provides a viable state for the Palestinians and real security for the State of Israel - a point I have underlined with Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas; or the importance of bringing stability and order to Iraq; but the precarious situation in Lebanon; or the challenge of modern Iran, a nation of growing importance with which Britain would like to be positively engaged, in the right circumstances, but which must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon....

To read David Cameron's full speech, please click here.

To read Crispin Blunt's speech, please click here.

Following dinner speeches were given by Crispin Blunt MP Chairman of CMEC, Laura Hutchings Director of CMEC and the Rt Hon William Hague MP.

The Gala Dinner was a huge success and for that CMEC thanks its supporters for their generous contribution to the evening.

To view more photos from this event, please click here.