Dr. Koch held a
meeting with Mona Seghal, Jeena Beverridge and Jeffrey Phillips, of the US
Governmental Accountability Office (GOA) in Washington DC to discuss US-GCC
Relations specifically in relation to the Gulf Security Dialogue.
Dr. Koch discussed
current developments in the Gulf states during a visit to the Middle East
Policy Council in Washington DC including a meeting with their newly appointed
president Frank Anderson
The Chairman of the
GRC, Abdulaziz Sager, met with Vasu Gounden, Founder and Executive Director of
the African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), Board
Member Aziz Pahad, the former Deputy Foreign Minister of South Africa, and
Hayden Allen, General Manager at ACCORD for Corporate Affairs. They were joined
in the meeting by Dr. Christian Koch, Director of International Studies and Dr.
Oskar Ziemelis, Director of Cooperation at the Gulf Research Center. The
discussion focused on closer relations between the two institutions, ACCORD’s
plan for the building of a Green Peace Center in Durban, South Africa, the role
of conflict resolution in international affairs as well as regional trends and
developments.
A delegation from the
European Photonics Industry Consortium (EPIC) visited the Gulf Research Center.
The delegation consisted of Dr. Tom Pearsall, EPIC Secretary General and Dr.
Richard Kirk, CEO, Polyphotonix Company who were accompanied by Dr. Dieter
Fuchs, General Manager of the Fraunhofer Middle East Office. EPIC is a
not-for-profit consortium that brings together 80 European photonics businesses
and institutions in support of sustainable development. The delegation
discussed potential cooperation with the GRC Chairman and the managers of the
GRC Science & Technology and Environment Research Programs.
Dr. Koch received at
the GRC Mr. Joerg Herrera, the newly appointed Deputy Consul-General of Germany
in Dubai to discuss current development and the status of German-UAE Relations
Dr. Christian Koch met
with Dr. Johannes Berthold of the St. Gallen Foundation to discuss cooperation
between the two institution as well as hosting interns from the foundation at
the GRC.
