A team of American officials headed by Ambassador James Jeffrey, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Department of State, was briefed by the GRC on issues related to the US policy in Iraq, Iran nuclear row, GCC policies toward Iran, and threat perceptions of the GCC countries. Among the other delegates were Aaron Snipe, Iran Office, Department of State, Washington, as well as Jillian Burns, Ramin Asgard, Amy Lenk, and Danusia Hubah from the US Consulate in Dubai.
Mr Salem Al-Khaldi, Business Development Manager in Saudi-based Invensys, was recognized as a promising “young researcher” by the GRC in response to a research paper – “Education Policies in the GCC States” – he submitted for publication. He was awarded a plaque and $2000 for his effort.
1- Ambassador David Aaron, Director, Center for Middle East Public Policy, RAND Corporation, and a Senior Fellow coordinating counter-terrorism and homeland security research, held talks on the regional issues and possible cooperation between the two institutes.
2- CEO of German Near and Middle East Association (NUMOV) Helene Rang held talks on cooperation with the GRC and discussed the possibility of holding the next NUMOV Board meeting in the UAE. NUMOV is Germany's largest non-profit and independent service provider supporting the bilateral business activities between Germany and the Near and Middle East.
Anthony Richter, Associate Director of New York-based Open Society Institute (OSI), discussed prospects for cooperation with the GRC. The OSI is part of the Soros Foundation and is a private operating and grant-making foundation that seeks to promote the development and maintenance of open societies around the world.
A Dutch team led by Ambassador of the Netherlands to the UAE David P. M. de Waal discussed the regional situation with the experts at the center.
Kuwaiti Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union Abdulaziz Al-Sharekh held talks to discuss cooperation on issues related to training and research.
