2024 Gulf Research Center Forum at the University of Cambridge

From July 9-11, 2024, I participated in the 14th annual forum organized by the Gulf Research Center at the University of Cambridge in the UK. This year’s forum included approximately 400 participants from various countries at both regional and global levels, featuring 13 workshops addressing significant Gulf issues such as the future of military manufacturing, energy transitions, opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence in the Gulf countries, regional conflict resolution initiatives, climate change, women, economic challenges, the Gulf countries and BRICS.

Before delving into the conference events, I would like to mention what Dr. Abdulaziz Bin Saqr, President of the Gulf Research Center, said during his welcoming speech. He noted that the center received more than 3000 proposals from researchers worldwide this year, and only 10% of those proposals were selected, indicating increased competition among researchers to participate in the forum. The center focused on the quality of the submitted papers and increased the participation rate of Gulf nationals to 36%, a noticeable increase from previous years.

The forum was of great importance in terms of timing and content. This year, the high-level attendees at the opening session were notable, including Mr. Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Baroness Patricia Scotland, Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mr. Luigi Di Maio, the European Union’s Special Envoy to the Gulf region, Professor David Cardwell, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Strategy and Planning at the University of Cambridge, along with several ambassadors and advisors from the foreign ministries of Gulf countries.

This high-level presence of representatives from some regional organizations reflects the organizers’ commitment to enhancing dialogue between the GCC and similar organizations. It was an opportunity for the Secretary General of the GCC to present the council’s vision for regional security, which he had announced on March 28, 2024. This vision includes securing energy, achieving regional security, addressing cyber threats and climate change, enhancing economic resources, and countering maritime security threats. Notably, the Secretary General reaffirmed that the “security of the Gulf countries is indivisible” and any threat to one state means a threat to all Gulf states, as stipulated in the second article of the GCC Joint Defense Agreement, akin to Article 5 of the NATO Charter. He also reviewed the Gulf countries’ positions on regional crises and how the council managed to achieve balance and maintain regional security.

The choice to invite the EU’s Special Envoy to the Gulf region, who was appointed in May 2023 and previously served as Italy’s Foreign Minister, was also significant. Beyond reiterating shared regional goals for lasting peace, his participation was timely, coming two years after the launch of the EU-Gulf partnership document, highlighting some of the partnership’s benefits, such as granting five-year visas to Gulf nationals and inviting Gulf youth for training in EU diplomatic institutions. This participation also followed elections in several European countries that saw changes in ruling elites, impacting future Gulf-European relations. Finally, the Gulf Research Center’s new branch in Brussels is set to play a key role in strengthening Gulf-European soft power partnerships.

The Gulf Research Center’s emphasis on women’s roles in the Gulf through a dedicated session featuring female leaders from Gulf foreign ministries was crucial. This session allowed the Western research community, which often discusses women’s issues in the Gulf, to hear these important experiences firsthand, sparking significant interest and questions from the attendees.

In my view, the added value of this conference lies in three main aspects: First, the organizers’ commitment to publishing some workshops in well-known publishing houses, with the author of these lines having previously published research in such books. Dr. Abdulaziz Bin Saqr mentioned that about 60 books covering various topics have been published. Second, when searching for scientific references on Gulf issues, most are authored by Western researchers, many of whom may never have visited the Gulf, making direct interactions between these researchers and their Gulf counterparts beneficial. Third, Gulf countries, often classified as small or medium-sized states, need to employ soft power, and the conference, with its topics and location, is a vital mechanism in this regard, especially amid the information explosion and the prevalence of misinformation. Scientific research remains a fundamental reference on Gulf issues.

This conference, which I have attended regularly since its inception in 2010, is distinguished by its academic nature, with the organizers consistently diversifying the topics year after year. It serves as an important dialogue platform between Gulf researchers and their Western counterparts. The upcoming 2025 conference, marking the 15th anniversary of its launch, will be an opportunity for the Gulf Research Center to present the conference’s achievements over this period.

The success of the conference, in addition to the research contributions, was due to the tireless efforts and excellent organization by the Gulf Research Center’s research and administrative staff, who provided all necessary support to the participants from the acceptance of their papers to their farewell, deserving full appreciation.

Source: Akhbar Al Khaleej