Held annually in the first week of December, The Gulf Studies Forum provides scholars, journalists and policy-makers a free and open academic environment to discuss the most pressing issues facing the Arab Peninsula and its societies.

Each year, the Gulf Studies Forum's Academic Committee selects a new, specific topic to form the basis of discussions at the Gulf Studies Forum. The proceedings of various editions of the Forum have been published in two volumes: the first, covering the educational landscape in the Arab Gulf states, and the second which tackled a wide range of social, economic and political problems facing the Gulf states.