A delegation led by Lt. Gen. John R. Allen, Deputy Commander of the United States Central Command paid a courtesy visit to the Gulf Research Center on the 12th of May 2010. At the GRC, he was met by Dr. Mustafa Alani, Dr. Christian Koch and Nicole Stracke and engaged in wideranging discussions.
A delegation led by Dr. Jon Altermann, Director and Senior Fellow in the Middle East Program of the Center for International and Strategic Studies (CSIS) in Washington DC visited the GRC to discuss the current strategic enviornment in the Gulf region. In a lively discussion, most of the focus was on the implications of an Iranian nuclear program both for the external and internal security of the GCC states. Other topics included the outlook for the medium-term US presence in the region and the consequences of the global financial crisis on Dubai’s economic outlook. Briefing the delegation were Dr. Mustafa Alani, Senior Advisor and Director of the Security and Defense Program, Dr. Christian Koch, Director for International Studies and Nicole Stracke, Researcher in the Defense and Security Program.
A group of students from Sciences Po (Chaire Moyen-Orient Méditerranée) in France visited the Gulf Research Center under the auspices of the Eurogolfe Public Diplomacy & Outreach Project (EPDOP) in which Sciences Po is a participant. This is a European Commission project which aims to develop an in-depth network of relations between EU and GCC countries, focusing in particular on economic and political decision-makers, on intellectual and academic leaders, and on the young generation – students and young professionals.
GRC staff, including Dr. Mustafa Alani, Dr. Samir Pradhan, Dr. Mohammed Raouf and Dr. Oskar Ziemelis introduced the visiting students to the work of the GRC with specific focus on: the impact of the global economic crisis on business and international relations; Gulf region environmental and security issues; and the structure and functioning of GRC as an independent think tank.
A delegation from the US Air Force War College in Montgomery, Alabama visited the GRC for a briefing on regional events and developments. They were met by Dr. Mustafa Alani, Senior Advisor and Program Director for Security and Terrorism Studies; Dr. Christian Koch, Director of International Studies; and Nicole Stracke, Researcher in the Security and Terrorism Department. The group are on a study tour about the UAE and used their time at GRC to ask question related to what they had seen in the country and in the region.
Dr. Kyoichi Tanio & Kazumasa Ohsaki from The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan visited GRC where they met with Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raouf to discuss cooperation in the field of environment.
The Swedish State Secretary Ola Altera of the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications paid a visit to the Gulf Research Center to discuss issues of energy and the environment with a specific focus on the work of the GRC on these issues also in relation to the recently announced GCC-EU Clean Energy Network. He was accompanied by the H.E. the Swedish ambassador to the UAE Bruno Beijer, Mr. Daniel Badman of the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications, Mr. Antoine Fanoun of the Swedish Trade Council in the UAE, Lisa Lundmark, Executive Officer in the International Secretariat of the Swedish Energy Agency and Jose Karre, First Secretary of the Swedish Embassy in Abu Dhabi. From the GRC side, Dr. Christian Koch, Director for International Studies, Dr. Oskar Ziemelis, Director for Cooperation and Program Manager for the Science and Technology Research Program and Dr. Mohamed Raouf, Senior Researcher and Program Manager for the GCC Environmental Research Program attended the meeting.
