Nick Clegg: Why Britain stands firm in support of the Arab Spring

Those are the values of the open society, where power is dispersed, government is representative, opportunity is shared. Values which are sometimes referred to as “Western values”, which is historically inaccurate, for a start.

While much of Europe had still to emerge from the Dark Ages, it was the Baghdad of Haroun al-Rashid that saw a flowering of free religious debate and an openness to learning from non-Muslim sources. This year has proved that so-called Western values, free speech, the rule of law, pluralism, are the aspirations of people everywhere. The UK stands by all who strive for them.

But – and I make no apology for the self-interest here – we also care because stability and prosperity over there feed directly into jobs and security over here. Right now, there are over 150,000 British citizens living and working in North Africa and the Middle East and thousands of British companies operating there.

We exported around £24.5bn worth of goods and services to the region last year alone, more than to India and China combined. Even when you take out the Gulf States, trade with the rest of the region is strong and growing. So this is an extremely important market for us particularly when we are getting our own economy back on track.

The global economy is still very much governed by the price of oil. These states hold 59 per cent of the world’s reserves, along with 36 per cent of production.

Even a small risk of disruption to that supply can spook the markets, pushing up the price of oil and creating a headwind for global economic growth. That’s exactly what happened after the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, when oil prices hit a near-record high.

The Arab Spring also matters to us in terms of our security. We know that terrorists thrive on lawlessness and instability, many people might be surprised to hear that, right now, there is more chance of an al-Qaida attack being planned and carried out from Yemen than Afghanistan.

Because of continuing political deadlock, Yemen, already the poorest country in the region, is being pushed deeper into state failure, deeper into humanitarian crisis, creating a breeding ground for extremists who pose a threat to our safety. That situation cannot be allowed to continue – not in Yemen or anywhere else.

On security more broadly, North African and Middle Eastern states are also essential to preventing Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons or meddling in its neighbours affairs.

And to finding a lasting, two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict, the importance of which has been underlined by events over recent days. The peace process is already extremely fragile. Continuing unrest in the Arab world only adds to that.

So the UK has every reason to support the Arab Spring. We’re doing so in three key ways.

One, supporting Libya as it moves to a stable, prosperous future.

Two, using our influence to create a new international partnership with the region better at encouraging reform.

Three, by providing practical help to nations in transition.

The decision to support military intervention in Libya was not one the UK took lightly. Particularly not by those of us who opposed the invasion of Iraq, but, working with the international community to implement UN resolutions 1970 and 1973 was, and remains, necessary, legal and right.

We went to Libya with a clear humanitarian mandate and tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of lives have been saved since. But, we also knew that inaction would have threatened the Arab Spring as a whole. In those early months, had Colonel Muammar Gaddafi been allowed to massacre protesters in Benghazi, what message would that have sent to protesters in Manama? Sanaa? Damascus?

And, today, as the Colonel’s regime crumbles around him, as the people of Libya fight to take back their country, what message does that send to other dictators who ignore their people’s demands?

Today’s scenes in Libya should give heart to all of those struggling for their freedom. But – and this is where we learn the lesson from Iraq – Gaddafii’s departure will not be the end. It will be the beginning and we should not underestimate the challenges ahead.

The National Transition Council has articulated a vision for a strong, stable, post-Gaddafi Libya, setting out a roadmap for the government of Libya from now until the first set of legislative elections.

The UK, alongside the UN, will do everything we can to support that process, helping Libya draw a line under decades of repression, helping deliver peace and stability that last.

We’ll need to keep our approach under continual review. The situation is fast-changing. But one thing I can say with certainty: to every citizen in this part of the world demanding greater freedom, the UK stands with you.

Nick Clegg is the Deputy Prime Minister and Lib Dem MP for Sheffield Hallam. This is an edited extract of a speech that he delivered yesterday.