The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies will hold the Seventh Gulf Studies Forum from 29 November to 3 December 2020. This year the Forum will consider the topics of Sovereign Wealth Funds and Investment Policies of the States of the Gulf Cooperation Council and Relations of the Gulf Cooperation Council States with Iran.

The Sovereign Wealth Funds and Investment Policies of the States of the Gulf Cooperation Council sessions are divided into topics related to the experiences of these countries and their strategies in managing their sovereign funds, their governance, the role of these funds in economic diversification, and so on. Meanwhile the and Relations of the Gulf Cooperation Council States with Iran  sessions focus on the foundations of this relationship, the geopolitical competition that characterizes it, the energy security in the Gulf region, the Gulf states’ response to security challenges, the influence of regional and international powers on the relationship between the Gulf states and Iran, and the US-Iranian tension and its implications for the Gulf region, and others.

These topics are examined over 27 papers, in addition to two keynote lectures given by the professor at the Paris School of International Affairs, Giacomo Luciani, titled “Dilemmas of Sovereign Wealth Funds Management”, and by Honorary Fellow at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding of Georgetown University, Shireen Hunter, titled “The Impact of Systemic Factors on Iranian-Gulf Relations”. A group of Arab and international researchers will participate in the forum, including Khalid Al-Abdulqader, Mohammad Ghnem Al-Rumaihi, Dhafer Al-Ajmi, Nayef N. Alshammari, Khalid Al Jaber, Faisal Al Monawer, Dania Thafer, Yousuf Hamed Al Balushi, Fahad Y. Al-Fadala, Mohammed Omar Batwaih, Abdullah Mohammed al-Ghailani, Juan Cole, Ross Harrison, Sara Bazoobandi, Gawdat Bahgat, Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar, John Calabrese, and Ali Fathollah-Nejad.

In light of the exceptional circumstances of the ongoing pandemic, this year’s forum will be organized remotely via the Zoom video conference platform, and will be broadcast through the Arab Center’s social media accounts for general public access.