Students from the economic faculty of the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany visited the GRC on February 10, 2009. The students were led by Professor Franz-Joseph Busse. Dr Eckart Woertz, Program Manager of Economics briefed the group on GRCs activities and gave a lecture on the current economic developments in the Gulf. In his presentation on the "Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the GCC Countries" he highlighted the economic and financial implications for the Gulf States and discussed with the students possible consequences for the six economies' growth models.
A class from The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, USA visited GRC on January 25, 2009. The delegation was led by Ambassador (ret.) Barbara K. Bodine and was briefed about current affairs of the Gulf region.
Mr. Abdulaziz Sager, the GRC Chairman received Mr. Narendra S. Sisodia, the Director General of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), who visited GRC to sign a cooperation MoU to establish academic and scholarly ties and discuss issues of mutual interest. IDSA is considered to be one of the premier strategic and security studies Think Tanks in India. The Institute has enlarged its focus of research from Defence Studies to cover issues of National and International Security and its expertise is frequently utilized by the Indian Parliament's Standing Committee on Defence.
The GRC Chairman, Mr. Abdulaziz Sager, received a number of African ambassadors to the UAE. The representatives from Algeria, Angola, Djibouti, Egypt, Mozambique, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland and Tunisia came to discuss the progress made with the organization of the first ever-held Gulf and Africa Strategy Forum 2009. Each representative reinforced their support to the event.
Dr. Koch received on December 16, 2008, Dr. Ashok Kumar, the Acting Director General of the Indian Council for World Affairs, in the GRC offices. The two discussed areas of mutual interest including possible collaboration on workshops and other events.
GRC was visited by a group of 30 students from Raffles Junior College of Singapore as part of the college's Middle East programme, an enrichment programme that explores the socio-politics and economics of the region. The students were briefed about GRC and the research work that it is carrying out, including economic, political, security and environmental issues related to the Gulf region. The translation work of GRC was also discussed.
