DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Barack Obama said governments across the Middle East that make a "commitment to justice and human rights" will continue to have a friend in America.
Obama also noted the ongoing strife shaking the Mideast in the years following the 2011 Arab Spring.
Obama said: "As we've seen in the tumult across the Middle East and North Africa, when governments do not lift up their citizens, it's a recipe for instability and strife."
Obama made the comments in a video address shown Monday at the World Government Summit in Dubai. World leaders are gathered in this city-state in the United Arab Emirates for several days of talks about the future of governance.