Dear Participants of GRM 2026 It is my pleasure to welcome you to the sixteenth annual Gulf Research Meeting (GRM). GRM is the largest annual gathering dedicated solely to the study of the Gulf region and it is gratifying to see that the meeting has become an established tradition. As has been the case for the past few years, GRM 2026 will once again bring together about 380 participants divided into 12 research workshops. As usual, the topics also this year range across the social sciences and they reflect many of the developments taking place in the Gulf region. This underlines the academic and scholarly interest in the field of Gulf studies, as well as the need for a more thorough and in-depth analysis of how current issues are impacting the Gulf studies field as a whole.