Proceedings of the Amman Conference
2 June 2025
Executive Summary
The Levant and Iraq Forum (LIF) was officially inaugurated at the MERI Forum on 30 October 2024 in Erbil, Iraq, and held its first post-launch meeting in Amman on 2 June 2025. Think tank leaders, policy experts, and several European partners participated in shaping this long-term, knowledge-driven platform aimed at addressing shared regional challenges. The Forum seeks to build a growing network of policy institutions and policy makers to promote inclusive, locally led cooperation across the Levant and Iraq.
Session One framed the Forum’s vision, emphasizing the shift from passive analysis to active engagement. Participants underscored the importance of local ownership and the unique opportunity for think tanks to shape discourse amid deepening geopolitical uncertainty. The Levant and Iraq were identified as historically interconnected yet institutionally fragmented, requiring renewed collaboration. European participants stressed that instability in the region has global implications, reinforcing the need for collective, locally anchored responses.
Session Two focused on the Forum’s structure and operational mechanisms. A rotating leadership model and decentralized coordination were proposed to preserve inclusivity and flexibility. To sustain momentum, participants recommended increased visibility through strategic communications, pre-conference events, and focused initiatives in agriculture, energy, and culture. Structural challenges like state fragility and armed actors were acknowledged, but the emphasis was on launching practical, scalable programs.
Session Three and Four addressed how to translate dialogue into collaboration. Recommendations included investment in human capital, cross-border initiatives, joint research, and scholarship programs. Climate resilience, youth engagement, and economic integration were flagged as strategic priorities. The Forum was urged to serve as a convening platform for pluralistic, cross-sector regional policymaking.
Complementing institutional discussions, a dedicated session on Syria highlighted its pivotal role in shaping the region’s future. The fall of the Assad regime and rise of new leadership were seen as an opening for inclusive reconstruction and regional integration. The Forum endorsed reintegration of armed factions into state structures, warning that disarmament without inclusion could breed fragmentation. Experts advocated for decentralisation based on development, not ethnicity, and emphasised the need for accountability, especially regarding unvetted reintegration of former regime loyalists.
In a broader geopolitical context, the Forum acknowledged a major regional realignment. The decline of Iranian influence, the Gulf-Levant divergence, and unresolved crises like Palestine point to the need for a new regional vision. Iraq, emblematic of both potential and fragility, was seen as key to this effort.
The Forum concluded by calling for regional agency rooted in evidence-based dialogue, inclusive governance, and a new architecture of cooperation led by local actors, with Syria potentially serving as a keystone of renewal.
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