Meetings

Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, Chairman of the Gulf Research Center, visited Sofia by invitation of the Diplomatic Institute. A Cooperation Memorandum was signed between the Diplomatic Institute and the Center. as part of the visit. Dr. Sager gave a lecture on “Current Problems Facing the Gulf Cooperation Council” in front of Bulgarian and foreign diplomats, experts, DI trainees and journalists.

GRC Chairman Dr. Abdulaziz Sager held a meeting with Dr. Fred Bergsten, President of the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. Also present at the meeting were Dr. Mustafa Alani and Dr. Christian Koch of the GRC and Dr. Marcus Noland of the Peterson Institute. The two sides discussed recent economic development in the region in addition to focusing on cooperative efforts between the two institutions. The Peterson Institute is already engaged in several studies about the GCC countries.

The Gulf Research Center held a meeting with Ellen Laipson, President and CEO of the Henry L. Stimson Center during their visit to Washington DC. Present at the meeting from the GRC side were GRC Chairman Abdulaziz Sager, Mustafa Alani and Christian Koch. The GRC and the Stimson Center already have a working Memorandum of Understanding and have undertaken joint projects. The meeting served to discuss potential additional ways of cooperation as well as an exchange of views on current development in the Gulf region and US policy to the Middle East.

GRC Chairman Abdulaziz Sager, Dr. Alani and Dr. Koch held a meeting with Dr. Geoffrey Kemp of the Center for the National Interest in Washington DC. The meeting focused on ways of cooperation between two institutions in addition to a discussion of the Gulf’s relations to Asia and the situation in Iran and Iraq.

The Gulf Research Center hosted a dinner discussion in Washington D.C. on Tuesday evening, September 13, 2011, to discuss Gulf regional developments and the impact on US policy. The dinner brought together leading policy officials including the Honorable Thomas Graham, former senior proliferation negotiator for United States; the Honorable Theodore Kattouf, former US Ambassador to Syria and the UAE; officials from the State Department and Vice-President’s office; think tank specialists and the media. GRC Chairman Abdulaziz Sager provided an overview from a Gulf perspective arguing that there was no such thing as regional exceptionalism. Other issues discussed included the outlook for Egypt, Afghanistan, and Pakistan; the view of the Gulf towards the Iranian nuclear program and internal Saudi politics.