The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies will hold the Ninth Annual Gulf Studies Forum from 22-23 October 2022 under the title “The Ukraine Crisis, Regional and International Competition, and the Future of Energy and Security in the Gulf”.

As a region affected by the Ukraine crisis, in terms of energy, security, and food supply, the Gulf has invested interest in the issue, which motivated the choice of topic for this year’s forum. So far, the crisis has triggered turmoil for global oil and gas markets, raising concerns for the supply chain and putting the Arab Gulf states at the center of the crisis. The crisis has brought to the surface underlying tensions in the traditional alliances linking the GCC states to the US, and the Gulf states have consequently sought to maintain a neutral stance in the conflict between Russia and the West despite the US and the EU making it clear they expected more of a sympathetic position towards Ukraine. The crisis is also expected to have repercussions on GCC economies and their environmental and food security.

In 21 papers over a total of 6 sessions, the forum addresses the repercussions of the Ukraine crisis on the regional and international relations of the Gulf, including relations with the US, Russia, China, the European Union, Turkey, Iran and Japan. The forum will also discuss the repercussions of the Ukraine crisis on global energy markets, energy security, inflation, climate change and food security.

This year, the forum hosts Charles A. Kupchan, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York and Professor of International Affairs at Georgetown University in the Walsh School of Foreign Service and Department of Government, in a public lecture titled “The Ukraine War and Its Geopolitical Implications.”

The forum is being held in person at the ACRPS cultural building, and also livestreamed on the center's social media accounts.

* Simultaneous translation is available in Arabic and English.

** Forum Booklet (agenda, participants and summaries).