Experts from Vietnam, Morocco, Egypt and Palestine explored political and social changes in North Africa and the Middle East and discovered their impacts on Vietnam during a seminar held in Hanoi on June 25.

Held by the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences and sponsored by the Belgian Embassy in Vietnam, the event offered a chance for Vietnamese scholars to seek new research initiatives in Africa.

The seminar highlighted the “Arab Spring” movement in North Africa and the Middle East, its impacts at national, regional and international levels, Sharia or Islamic Law in political affairs and Constitutions of Morocco and Egypt, and the intervention of powerful countries in the region.

The “Arab Spring” started in Tunisia in December 2010. The wave of demonstrations and protests then moved to other Arab countries in North Africa and the Middle East .

Due to the movement, these countries have experienced fluctuations in political, economic and social affairs as well as important changes in the region’s international, political and security relations.

The changes have resulted in the rise of Islamic political parties and forces, and the establishment of Islamic State institutions based on Islamic Law.

The “Arab Spring” has also changed the regional political forces’ structure and external relations of many countries in the region.-VNA