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.
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.
