Gulf Events

The Middle East Program hosts regular events to highlight issues of importance to policymaking, business, and academic audiences. The program convenes experts, policymakers, and thought leaders for roundtable discussions, conferences, and high-level presentations including through the Statesmen’s Forum event series and the CSIS Middle East Program Gulf Roundtable Series.

See past Middle East Program events on the Gulf Here.

Gulf Roundtable Series

The CSIS Middle East Program launched the Gulf Roundtable Series in April 2007 to examine the strategic importance of a broad range of social, political, and economic trends in the Gulf region and to identify opportunities for constructive U.S. engagement. The roundtable defines the Gulf as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, and Yemen. The roundtable regularly assembles a diverse group of regional experts, policymakers, academics, and business leaders seeking to build a greater understanding of the complexities of the region. Topics for discussion include the strategic importance of Gulf energy, changing Gulf relations with Asia, human capital development, media trends, trade liberalization, and prospects for greater regional integration. The Gulf Roundtable series is made possible in part through the generous support of the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates.

The Middle East Program also produces policy papers linked to the Gulf Roundtable topics. In particular, they highlight key trends and conclusions, indicate policy implications for the United States and Gulf states, and raise issues for further study.