Recognizing the
growing importance and relevance of GCC-Latin American relations, the Gulf
Research Center (GRC) hosted a meeting on Monday, November 9, 2009 with the
Heads of Mission and Consul Generals of Latin American countries in the UAE to
exchange point of views and begin deliberations about possible collaboration.
Present at the meeting alongside GRC representatives were H.E. Ruben Eduardo
Caro, the Ambassador of Argentina; H.E. Jean-Paul Tarud K., the Ambassador of
Chile, H.E. Lenin Bandres Herrera, the Ambassador of the Republic of Venezuela;
H.E. Luis Bermudez Alvarez, Consul General of Uruguay; H.E. Francisco Alonso,
Consul General of Mexico; H.E. Andres Fernando Pages, Consul General of Panama;
Mr. Arthur Nogueira, Minister Counselor at the Embassy of Brazil; and Mr.
Ignacio Gonzalez of the Embassy of the Dominican Republic. The meeting took
place on the heels of recent developments in Latin American-Gulf relations
including the Summit of South American and Arab Countries (ASPA), the numerous
diplomatic exchanges between the two region and the 20-day visit of Shaikh
Abdullah Bin Zayid, the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates to
numerous Latin American states in October 2009. While the focus of these events
have been on expanding the economic opportunities between the two sides, the
meeting at the GRC also stressed the need for a better and broader political
relationship that can provide a more solid framework under which to take
relations forward. The need for linkages between research institutions on both
sides, regular exchanges of views, and joint meetings and projects, for
example, in the fields of renewable energies, piracy, and overall political
relations was also mentioned.
A delegation from the
Vietnam Institute for Africa & Middle East Studies (VIAMES) visited the
Gulf Research Center. Prof. Do Duc Dinh, the Director of VIAMES headed the
delegation, which also included Ms. Tran Thi Lan Huong, editor of the Journal
of Africa and Middle East Studies. The delegation was accompanied by Mr. Nguyen
Duc Cuong, Third Secretary of the Embassy of Vietnam and Ms. Pham Tan Hoa,
Director of the Asia Pacific University Vietnam Office. Potential cooperation
areas between GRC and VIAMES were discussed with Dr. Christian Koch, Director
of International Studies and Dr. Oskar Ziemelis, Director of Cooperation at the
Gulf Research Center.
Dr. Koch met with
Daniel Meyer of the Institut Francais du Proche-Orient to talk about a possible
project on borders and national identity in the Gulf region.
A delegation from the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) visited the Gulf Research Center. The
delegation of ten was headed by HE Mr. Gao Quanli, Vice-President of CASS and
included Prof. Zhang Youyun, Deputy Director-General of the CASS Bureau of
International Cooperation. The delegation also included Prof. Yang Guang,
Director-General of the Institute of West-Asian and African Studies together
with other members of the Institute, which is one of more than 30 research
institutes that exist as part of CASS. The purpose of the visit was to enhance
mutual understanding and explore possibilities of research cooperation between
CASS and GRC. Views were also exchanged on developments in the Gulf region and
China’s relations with the region.
A delegation from the
International Union for conservation of Nature (IUCN), visited the Gulf
Research Center. IUCN is a global environmental organization and a membership
association with more than 1,000 member organizations in 140 countries and it
has official observer status at the United Nations General Assembly. The
Union’s headquarters are in Gland, near Geneva, Switzerland. IUCN supports
governments, NGOs, international conventions, UN organizations, companies and
communities to develop and implement laws, policy and best-practice to conserve
the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural
resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable, by mobilizing
organizations, providing resources, training people and monitoring results. Dr.
Odeh Al Jayoussi, IUCN Regional Director, met with the Chairman of GRC
Abdulaziz Sager, and the managers of the GRC Science and Technology and
Environment research programs. The purpose of the visit was to explore
possibilities of cooperation between GRC and IUCN, especially in the area of
capacity building programs related to sustainability, green economy and
renewable energies.
Dr. Kristian
Coates-Ulrichsen of the Kuwait Programme of the London School of Economics
visited the GRC and met with Dr. Christian Koch and Mr. Kareem Mahjoob of the
GRC to inform about the current research being conducted at the LSE.
