Dr. Christian Koch gave a briefing to the Southern Mediterranean Working Group of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament on the “Perceptions of the Gulf on the Iranian Role in the Region.” The briefing too place in front of several members of the European Parliament.
Dr. Christian Koch participated and spoke at the conference of the Frankfurt Peace Academy on “Regional Order, Arms Control, and Disarmament in the Middle East/Gulf.” The event is organized by the Peace Research Institute, Frankfurt, the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation and the Academic Peace Orchestra Middle East. Dr. Koch spoke on “Saudi Arabia’s New Regional Policy: The ‘Salman Doctrine’ and its Implications.”
Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raouf, Research Fellow - GRC Environment Research Program, participated in the 49th Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council meeting and its preparatory Civil Society Organization (CSO) meeting, as well as in the GEF-CSO Consultation meeting held in Washington DC, USA from 17-22 October 2015. Dr. Raouf chaired the second session entitled “Partnership with Civil Society to meet GEF’s Targets and Sustainable Development Goals” which took place on 19 October 2015. GRC participated in these meetings in its current capacity as the Regional Focal Point in the GEF-CSO Network for the West Asia region.
Dr. Abdulaziz Sager participated at the Beirut Institute Summit, in Abu Dhabi on october 10 & 11, 2015 , entitled: ‘Reconfiguring the Arab Region and its Global Space Beyond Political Economy and Security Threats’ and played the role of Facilitator and shared the panel for “The Town Hall Conversation”.
Dr. Christian Koch participated in the conference on “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Sharing Insights on Europe’s Key Partner in the Middle East” organized by the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation and held at the KAS Conference Centre “Villa La Collina” in Cadenabbia, Italy. The event brought together 30 specialists with session on Saudi Arabia’s Domestic, Economic and Foreign Policy, the role of Islam and gender issues. Dr. Koch spoke on the outlook of the kingdom’s economy in light of declining oil prices. A wrap-up session on the future of Saudi-European relations was also held.
Dr. Christian Koch participated in the panel discussion on “Geopolitical Power Shifts in the Middle East” hosted by the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in collaboration with FRIDE, Madrid. The event focused on the changing positions of Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran within the current development in the region and its consequences.
