Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, Chairman of the Gulf Research Center, participated in the 14th Kronberg Talks of the Bertelsmann Foundation entitled “Europe, Turkey and the Mediterranean – Fostering Cooperation and Strengthening Relations” held May 14 to 16, 2012 in Istanbul, Turkey.
Dr. Abdulaziz Sager participated at the Conference titled “The Arab Spring One Year After: Challenges, Prospects and Strategies for Change”, organized by the European Policy Center at Brussels on the 29th-30th of March 2012 and chaired the session on ” Economic Performance: Managing the Transformation to Open and Fair Market Economies”.
GRC Chairman Dr. Abdulaziz Sager participated in a panel discussion at the JEF in Jeddah on Sunday 4 March 2012. Dr. Sager tried to analyze the necessary steps to achieve further integration between GCC countries and play a more effective role within the political and economical international arena. he said that the success of the Gulf Cooperation Council experience is beyond doubt, however there is still room for improvement in many areas. He elaborated while answering a question from the audience that four factors also contributed to the creation of the GCC federation: The delay in implementing the previously agreed GCC rules, the economic differences among the GCC countries, and the strong ties linking families ruling these states. The federation, he said, is still facing challenges that will be discussed and modified. Answering a question whether China, the world’s second biggest economy, is looking to become a world political power, he said: “China has domestic issues that it needs to tackle. It’s still not ready to take this step.
Dr. Abdulaziz Sager attended an Informal Round table on the 24th February organized by the Geneva Center for Security Policy.
GRC at the Brookings Doha Energy Forum 2012 in Doha, Qatar Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, Chairman of GRC, attended the Brookings Doha Energy Forum 2012 in Doha, Qatar from February 20-21, 2012. The theme of the conference was “At the Energy Fault-Line: What Shifts in Global Economics and Local Politics mean for Middle East Suppliers and their customers.”
Gulf Research Center Participated in two day symposium held in Riyadh entitled: The New Changes in the Arab world Dr. Abdulaziz Sager participated in the two day symposium being organized jointly by the Riyadh-based King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies (KFCRIS) and Carnegie Endowment For International Peace held in Riyadh on 9-10th January titled The New Changes in the Arab world and chaired a session titled The U.S and the New Changes in the Arab World with Ms. Jessica Mathews,President and Dr. Thomas Carothers ,Vice President and Dr.Marwan Muasher, Vice President for Studies and Director (Middle East Program) from Carnegie.
GRC Chairman Dr. Abdulaziz Sager Attended conference in Doha on 22nd-23rd November titled: “GCC at 30 : Past Achievements and Future Prospects” and shared a panel as a speaker titled: “GCC security Challenges”.
GRC Chairman Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, Dr. Christian Koch, Director of the GRC Foundation, and Dr. Abdullah Baabood, Director of the Gulf Research Center Cambridge held a meeting with Patricia Llombart-Cussac, Head of the Division for the Arabian Peninsula, Iran and Iraq at the European External Action Service (EEAS) and Guiseppi Busini, Desk Officer for the GCC and Gulf Countries at the EEAS in Brussels on Tuesday. They discussed many of the current issues in the relations between the GCC and the EU including the situation in Yemen. They also focused on the Joint Action Programme and way that aspects of the program can be implemented with the assistance of the GRC. A further point was the holding of a GCC-EU Economic Conference to be held next year in Brussels in correspondence with the annual Joint Ministerial Meeting of the EU and the GCC.
Crown-Belfer Middle East Project Lunch Seminar on Developments in the Gulf. GRC Chairman Abdulaziz Sager spoke in the framework of the Crown-Belfer Middle East Project at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University on the recent political development in the Middle East and its impact specifically on the Gulf region. He covered the issues of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Bahrain and outlined the Saudi and GCC positions on this front. He clearly stated that the Gulf is not immune from the political change impacting the region and ruling families need to understand the challenges posed to them. For now, ruling families retain their legitimacy and their favorable economic positions have allowed the rulers to react quickly. In the end, however, economic handouts will not silence political demands and one result will likely be an increase in the number of petitions presented by sections of the population to the governments. Dr. Sager further focused on regional challenges including the Iranian nuclear program, the unfinished business in Iraq and the implications of a possible US veto at the UN on the Palestinian statehood resolution. He pointed out the deep disappointment in the region concerning US policy, having left many issues unfinished and not following through on their own principles and policies. On Iran, the GCC states will not live in the shadow of an Iranian nuclear program, neither will a US defense umbrella be sufficient. Overall, he argued that the US insurance policy for the Gulf states is not running out of credibility. Moreover, the US will have to deal with different governments in the region with public opinion and democratic government changing the equation from relations as they have existed in the past.
GRC Chairman Dr. Abdulaziz Sager and GRC Foundation Director Dr. Christian Koch held a series of meeting with staff members of Research Triangle International (RTI) located in North Carolina. RTI is one of the world’s leading research institutes operating on an independent, nonprofit basis to provide research, development, and technical services in the applied sciences to government and commercial clients worldwide. They are picture here (from the left) with James J. Gibson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Victoria Franchetti Haynes, President and CEO; and Dr. Wayne Holden, Executive Vice President for Social, Statistical, and Environmental Sciences. During the visit to RTI, Dr. Sager and Dr. Koch held talks with the different business units of the company to further explore potential areas of cooperation in the fields of science and technology. The GRC and RTI already have a memorandum of understanding to support their joint work.
