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.
Dr. Leanne Piggott, Deputy Director of the Centre for International Security Studies and a member of the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Sydney visited the GRC where she met with Dr. Christian Koch to discuss current developments in the region and areas of cooperation with the Gulf Research Center. Specific issues included the role of education and energy security.
Dr. Christian Koch, Dr. Mustafa Alani and Nicole Stracke received at the GRC, Mr. John Richardson, Director of the Brussels Forum of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) and Lamis Khalilova also of GMF. They discussed development in the Gulf region and opportunities for cooperation.
Dr. Christian Koch received a group of students from the Free University of Berlin studying the urban planning process of Dubai.
Nicole Stracke and Christian Koch received a 8-member student delegation from the New Initiative for Middle East Peace (NIMEP), a student-run think-tank at the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University
Ms. Lina Chihabi Marketing Manager of the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) in Abu Dhabi visited GRC where she met with Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raouf to discuss cooperation in the field of environment.
A delegation from the Pillars of Knowledge for Research & Studies (PKRS) visited the Gulf Research Center. PKRS is a Khartoum-based non-profit, independent organization established in 2009. PKRS focuses on international relations, as well as social, economic and religious issues relating to Sudan. Dr. Ahmed Hassan, General Manager, Mr. Kalem Moustafa, Executive Manager, and Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Sadek, Director of Political Program of PKRS met with Dr. Oskar Ziemelis and Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raouf from the GRC to explore synergies between the two institutions and study possibilities of cooperation.
