The three year INCONET-GCC2 Project drew to a successful close in January 2017. Dr. Oskar Ziemelis, GRC Director of Cooperation, Sanya Kapasi and Imen Jeridi Bachellerie represented the GRC Foundation at the final event and meeting of the project. The final event was an International Conference entitled “EU-GCC Research and Innovation Cooperation: The Way Forward” which took place on 29 November 2016 in Brussels and presented the results of the project to about 100 strategic stakeholders from both the EU and the GCC. The conference focused on exploring the way forward in research and innovation cooperation between EU and GCC countries with emphasis on three interconnected axes: i) Supporting bi-regional research and innovation policy dialogue, ii) Capacity building needs and opportunities in the GCC region, and iii) Enhancing research and innovation cooperation between relevant stakeholders, including existing EU networks and the research and business communities. Dr. Ziemelis presented the results of the researcher mobility task to the conference.The GRC Foundation representatives also participated in the concluding project consortium meeting, which took place after the conclusion of the conference on 30 November 2016.
Dr. Christian Koch participated in a conference call organized by the Bertelsmann Foundation in Washington on the topic of “Middle East Policy and Transatlantic Cooperation in a New American Presidency.” The call featured short presentations by Dr. Koch, Amb. James Jeffrey of the Washington Institute and Christian-Peter Hanelt of the Bertelsmann Foundation in Germany. In total, more than 130 people listened to the call which included a question and answer session with listeners. A complete audio recording will soon be available.
Dr. Christian Koch participated in the discussion of the Tawila Middle East Group held in Berlin, Germany. The topic of discussion focused on the status of the diplomatic negotiation over Syria with an assessment about the overall situation presented by Carsten Wieland of the German Foreign Office.
Dr. Christian Koch, Director of the GRC Foundation, held a meeting with H.E. Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi, Ambassador of the State of Kuwait to the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union, in Brussels. The two discussed joint cooperation when it comes to GCC-EU issues and how to promote activities that will strengthen the cooperation between the two sides.
Dr. Christian Koch, Director of the Gulf Research Center Foundation, attended the Qatar National Day Celebration at a reception held in Berlin, Germany. Qatari Ambassador to Germany H.E. Abdulrahman Al-Khulaifi spoke at the event highlighting the importance of Qatar-German relations.
Dr. Abdulaziz Sager, Chairman of the GRC and Dr. Christian Koch, Director of the GRC Foundation both attended the third annual Gulf Studies Forum held by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies in Doha, Qatar. Dr. Sager spoke on the panel of “Regional Security: Questions and Challenges” with a paper on “Gulf-Turkey Relations” while Dr. Koch spoke on the panel of “GCC Relations with the Great Powers” with a paper entitled “Gulf-Europe Relations: Changing Dynamics”. The conference brought together more than 100 participants from throughout the Gulf region, the Middle East and beyond.
