Saudi Arabian Prince Turki Al Faisal urged his country to assume a leadership role in mitigating Middle Eastern conflicts and maintaining regional stability during a speech at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics on Friday as part of Harvard Arab Weekend.

Al Faisal—former Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States—surveyed challenges threatening peace and stability in the Middle East and claimed that Saudi Arabia’s economic and geographic strategic importance in the region could allow it to exert positive influence.

“Saudi Arabia hopes to present the world with a steady diplomatic hand, backed by growing economic and financial might, and ever increasing military power,” he said.

The challenges facing Yemen, Iraq, and Iran currently impact Saudi Arabia—the largest oil producer in the world—most, Al Faisal said.

“Saudi leaders are keenly aware of Iran’s provocative agenda. Iran’s nuclear ambition...is taken very seriously,” Al Faisal said.

Iran’s expansionist agenda has aggravated tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran on issues such as policy towards Western nations, Sunni and Shiite differences, and competition among petroleum reserves, he said.

“The key concern is a regional nuclear arms race,” Al Faisal said.

Yet, Saudi Arabia supports the use of nuclear power, he indicated.

“Acquiring peaceful uses of nuclear energy has been decided...The acquisition of nuclear energy is [our] undeniable right,” he added, noting that the Kingdom has joined the United States in signing a Memorandum of Understanding on Civil Nuclear Energy Cooperation in 2008.

Al Faisal also focused on Yemen, Saudi Arabia’s southern neighbor, which he said has seen increased insurgent activity and has become a security threat to Saudi Arabia’s border, and Iraq—a country which he expects to yield considerable influence in OPEC in the future and which he said has gotten a great deal of support from Saudi Arabia to achieve stability.

According to Al Faisal, Saudi leaders have focused on preventing the partitioning of Iraq and stopping foreign interference.

“As 2010 comes to a close, Saudi Arabia has gained a position of global prominence. It has led the regional response to improve Gulf security and stressed collaboration over division,” Al Faisal said.

Answering a question on women’s rights from the audience, Al Faisal said “I believe women have suffered discrimination, punishment, and unjust treatment.” He also indicated that more Saudi Arabian women than men graduate from college, and some are beginning to enter the workforce.

“Prince Turki was an impressive highlight of Harvard Arab Weekend,” said Delara Z. Alameddine ’14, a student originally from Lebanon. “[However] missing from his analysis of the region was recognition of Turkey’s increasingly pivotal role in the region.”