Participations
Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, Chairman of the Gulf Research Center, took part in the Middle East and North Africa Regional Security […]
The Chairman of the Gulf Research Center Dr. Abdulaziz Sager have a presentation on “The political development in the Gulf region and the implications for the international trade and economics with the EU and Switzerland” to the board of the Swiss Business Association Saudi Arabia in Zurich, Switzerland. After the presentation, he engaged in a wide-ranging discussion with the members present at the meeting.
Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, Chairman of the Gulf Research Center, participated in the European Neighborhood conference entitled “Europe, North Africa and the GGC: Joint action for democracy” organized by the Bertelsmann Foundation and held in Tunis, Tunisia. The event was a precursor for the next Kronberg Middle East talks which will take place in Tunisia in 2014.
Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, Chairman of the Gulf Research Center participated in the meetings of the General Assembly of the Arab – Turkish Dialogue Forum as a member of the Executive Committee of the Forum. The forum concentrates on promoting the dialogue between the two parties and deepening mutual understanding. The meeting has concluded in Istanbul-Turkey in the period 3-5 October, 2013 and the members of the Executive Committee had met with the President of the Turkish Republic, Mr. Abdullah Gul.
Dr. Abdulaziz Sager attended the Forum on ERFIP: Empowering Families for Innovative Philanthropy Megeve, France – Presented his views on Gulf Perspective – Key Philanthropic Challenges – A Gulf perspective.
On May 7, 2013, a group of decision-makers from Saudi Arabia attended a day-long meeting at NATO Headquarters where they were briefed by senior NATO officials. The visit was organized by the Gulf Research Center under its long-standing commitment and ties with NATO. Among the key speakers from the NATO side were James Appathurai, Acting Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy; Ambassador Stephen Evans, NATO\’s Assistant Secretary General for Operations; Nicola de Santis, Head, Middle East and North Africa Countries Section, Political Affairs and Security Policy Division; Ambassador Francesca Tardioli, Deputy Assistant Secretary General, Planning Directorate, Operations Division; Commodore Emil Eftimov, Deputy Director Cooperation and Regional Security Division, NATO International Military Staff; and Patrick Touze, Head, Policy, Plans & Partnerships Section, Defense Investment Division. The group also met with Joseph Manso, Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States of America on the North Atlantic Council, and Sule Oztunc, Deputy Permanent Representative of Turkey on the North Atlantic Council.
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.
The Gulf Research Center and the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) at Osaka University held a joint seminar under the tile “Japan-GCC Cooperation Forum” in order to explore the various means through which Japan and the GCC states can improve their relations and cooperation. The seminar featured presentation from Prof. Toshiya Hoshino, Dean of the OSIPP and Advisor to the President of Osaka University for International Affairs, GRC Chairman Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, Dr. Christian Koch, Director of the GRC Foundation and Noriko Suzuki, Director of the GRC Foundation Asia office. Following the seminar, Dr. Sager and Prof. Hoshino signed a memorandum of understanding between the GRC and OSIPP to include cooperation on joint research and future events.
As part of their trip to South Korea and Japan, the Chairman of the Gulf Research Center, Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, Dr. Christian Koch, Director of the Gulf Research Center Foundation and Noriko Suzuki, Director of the GRC Foundation Asia office in Tokyo, Japan held the following meetings/events in Tokyo on April 16th: ° A meeting with Yuji Takagi, President of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) and Dr. Akira Matsunaga, Deputy Director of the Sasakawa Middle East Islam Fund to talk about cooperation including participation at the Gulf Research Meeting ° Dr. Sager held a briefing for Sojitz Senior Management on Developments in the Gulf region. The briefing followed a private session with Yutuka Kase, Chairman of the Board of Sojitz Coperation. Present at the briefing were Shinichi Taniguchi, Executive Vice-President, Shuhei Inoue, Corporate Advisor and Michihiko Fukui, Leader for Middle East and Africa in the Regional Coordination and Administration Department. ° A meeting with the Ache Corporation, Keiji Nambu ° The GRC held a joint workshop with the Japan Institute of International Affairs entitled Evaluating the US pivot to Asia: Gulf and North-East Asian perspectives on April 16, 2013 in Tokyo. While Dr. Sager, GRC Chairman, provided the Gulf point of view, Dr. Seiichiro Takagi gave a presentation on how the US strategy shift is seen from Northeast Asia and specifically Japan. ° Following the workshop at the Japan Institute for International Affairs, Amb. Yukio Satoh, Vice-Chairman of the JIIA hosted a dinner for the GRC delegation ° A meeting with Mr. Komatsu and Kiyoshi Yoshimitsu of the Komatsu Research and Advisory (KRA)
Continuing on their visit to Japan, GRC Chairman, Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, Director of the GRC Foundation, Dr. Christian Koch and Director of the GRC Foundation Asia office in Japan, Noriko Suzuki, held the following meetings: ° With Mr. Masanori Iwahori, Executive Reporter, and Tetsuya Karata, Senior Producer of the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) ° Ms. Yuriko Koike, Member of the House of Representatives in Japan and former Minister of Defense. She was accompanied by Mr. Mizuta Masahiro, Secretary to Ms. Koiko. ° Mr. Nobuhisa Degawa of the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation (NHK). Mr. Degawa conducted a wide-ranging interview with Dr. Sager on current developments in the Gulf and the Middle East ° Mr. Takeshi Kondo, General Manager, and Mr. Toshiyuki Kawahara, Assistant Manager of Fuji Electric ° Mr. Shuhei Inoue of Sojitz Corporation and Mr. Tada Yukio and the Sojitz Research Institute ° Mr. Satoru Nakamura, General Manager in the Planning and Development Department of the ITOCHU Corporation.
