Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, Chairman of the GRC received Ambassador Theodore Kattouf, President and CEO of AMIDEAST in the GRC offices where they discussed the political situation in the Middle East and the Gulf. Also present in the meeting were Dr. Mustafa Alani and Dr. Christian Koch.
A Delegation from the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of France visited the GRC headed by Christian Masset, Director-General for Global Affairs, Development and Partnerships and Mr. Paul-Bertrand Barets, Deputy Director for International Economic Affairs. They were accompanied by French Ambassador to the UAE Alain Azouaou and Eric Giraud-Telme, the Consul-General of France in the UAE. The discussion round featured a look at regional developments, French policy in the Middle East and the Gulf and near-term outlook for the region. The delegation was received upon their arrival by Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, Chairman of the GRC, Dr. Mustafa Alani and Dr. Christian Koch.
Dr. Christian Koch held a meeting with Burkhard Balz, Member of the European Parliament and Member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. Also present was Dr. Thomas Birringer, Regional representative of the Konrad-Adenauer Foundation in the UAE. During the meeting, an examination of regional developments as well as the outlook for GCC-EU Relations was discussed.
Dr. Christian Koch met with Andre Kahlmeyer, Senior Advisor for Security Sector Reform and Joachim von Bonin, Planning Officer for Prevention, Security and Peace, both of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). In addition to regional developments, they discussed GIZ projects in the region including in Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Dr. Christian Koch met with Amb. Peter Zsoldos, Ambassador of the Slovak republic in Egypt with responsibility also for the UAE. They discussed current regional developments, GRC activities and building relations between the Gulf Research Center and Slovakian think tank and research institutions.
Dr. Mustafa Alani and Dr. Christian Koch were interviewed by Christoph Dreyer, a German freelance journalist working for several publications in the German-speaking area. The interview touched on recent developments in the region including the impact of the turmoil in Egypt, the outlook for the GCC economies and the trends in the military and arms sales sector.
Mr. Hiroki Fujimori, Senior Economist at the Mitsui Global Strategic Studies Institute in Tokyo, Japan, and Mr. Eapen Koshy, Manager of the Corporate Administration Division of Mitsui & Co. Middle East Ltd. visited the Gulf Research Center where they met with Dr. Mustafa Alani and Dr. Christian Koch. They discussed developments in the region, the status of GCC-Japan relations and GRC activities including the upcoming Gulf Research Meeting in Cambridge in July 2011.
