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.
Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raouf, Research Fellow - GRC Environment Research Program, participated in the UNEP Global Environment Outlook GEO-6 Expert Meeting in Nairobi, which took place in Kenya on 14-18 September 2015. Dr. Raouf is the coordinating Lead Author for the Environmental Governance subsection for the West Asia Region chapter of GEO-6.
Dr. Christian Koch participated and spoke at the Tiergarten Conference 2015 of the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation in Berlin, Germany. The conference was held under the theme of “Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in a Period of Global Upheaval.” Dr. Koch spoke in the working session on “The Iranian nuclear deal and its regional and global implications” focusing on the perspectives of the Arab Gulf states, their concerns and the overall consequences for the way forward.
Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raouf, Research Fellow – GRC Environmental Research Program, participated in the Global Environment Facility - Expanded Constituency Workshop (GEF-ECW) for the MENA region and in the Global Environment Facility – Civil Society Organizations (GEF-CSO) Consultation Meeting. The two meetings took place on 8-10 September 2015 in Dead Sea, Jordan. Dr. Raouf was responsible for organizing, moderating and speaking at the CSO Consultation Meeting on September 8th. The ECW workshop focused on discussions of GEF projects in the region, the GEF 2020 Strategy and the GEF Replenishment-6. The Gulf Research Center participated in the workshop in its current capacity as the Regional Focal Point of the GEF-CSO Network for West Asia.
Dr. Christian Koch met with Adnan Tabatabei, CEO of CARPO, the Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient. They discussed the current situation in the Gulf region and explored mechanisms of cooperation between the two institutions.
