Under the Gracious Patronage and with the Attendance of

His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi
Ruler of Sharjah, Supreme Council Member


 The Gulf Research Center

Holds a symposium on

‘Iraq and Its Neighboring States: Reciprocal Views’

30 - 31 March 2005


Al Jawhara Hall- Millennium Hotel-Sharjah

The work of the Gulf Research Center (GRC) is animated by a vision that rests essentially on its deep conviction that the Arabian Gulf region does not merely represent a geographical mass made up of a number of adjacent states; rather, the GRC approaches the Gulf region as a geographical structure that incorporates a complex set of inter-woven interests, policies and relations. These are so closely inter-related that events in any one state in the region directly affect other states.

No doubt, the current situation in Iraq embodies the most dramatic and outstanding event in the Gulf region, both at present and in the near future, as ongoing developments in that war-battered country certainly carry wide-ranging ramifications for Iraq itself and for other countries across the region.

Setting out from this undeniable reality, the GRC has decided to convene a symposium entitled Iraq and its Neighboring Countries: Mutual Visions.

This is the second academic event in a series of annual symposia held by the GRC and devoted specially to the Iraqi file.

Debates at the symposium will examine and analyze as well as propound forecasts on Iraq’s relations with each state within Iraq’s proximate geographical sphere. An Iraqi researcher, and a peer researcher from a neighboring state, will each be assigned to write a research paper to be discussed and commented upon by a third scholar. The point is to ensure the greatest degree of objectivity and comprehensiveness in approach.

The symposium will be held on March 30, 2005. In fact, the timing is quite appropriate, as it coincides with the second anniversary of the outbreak of the war against Iraq. By March 2005, many developments that appear today foggy and opaque might probably grow clearer, especially after the Iraqi elections that tookplace on 30 january 2005.