Dr. Mustafa Alani and Dr. Christian Koch met today with Tsutomu Nakagawa, Director of the Second Middle East Division in the Middle Eastern and African Bureau of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ms. Mariko Hayashi of the same division to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and Iran and the possible role that Japan could play regarding these issues. The visitors were accompanied by Consul Kenji Saito.
Dr. Christian Koch, Director for International Studies met with H.E. Luigi Narbone, Ambassador and Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the GRC offices to discuss recent development in EU-GCC relations and the status of the al-Jisr project on EU-GCC Public Diplomacy which the GRC is heading.
Turkish Consul General Mr. Umit Yalcin Visited GRC on october 20, 2010. At the GRC he was met by the Chairman Abdulaziz Sager.
Dr. Christian Koch, Director for International Studies, and Nicole Stracke, Researcher in the Security and Defense Program at the Gulf Research Center met with Holger Haibach, MdB, Member of the German Parliament and Chairman of the Working Group on Economic Cooperation and Development; Frank Spengler, Deputy Head of the Department for International Cooperation at the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation in Berlin, Germany; and Thomas Birringer, Regional Representative of the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation in Abu Dhabi to discuss regional political and economic developments.
A 20-member delegation from the Indian National Defense College visited the Gulf Research Center to discuss developments in the Gulf region, including the security situation in Iraq after the US withdrawal, the Arab-Israeli peace process, and the Iranian nuclear program. The delegates engaged in extensive discussions with GRC Chairman Abdulaziz Sager, Dr. Mustafa Alani, Director of the Security & Defense Program, and Dr. Christian Koch, Director of International Relations.
A parliamentary delegation from the House of Representatives from New Zealand visited the GRC on Monday, September 20, 2010 to discuss developments in the Gulf and the changing international relations posture of the GCC states. The delegation was led by the Hon. Maryan Street, Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Trade for the Labour Party, Metiria Turei, Co-Leader of the Green Party and Craig Foss a Member of Parliament for the Tukituki National Party. Among others, the delegation was accompanied by Wayne Mikkelsen, Consul General and Trade Commissioner for New Zealand in Dubai. At the GRC, Dr. Christian Koch briefed the delegation and Dr. Mohammad Raouf provided an overview of the key environmental issues impacting development in the Gulf.
