AGSIW Director of Program Outreach and Communication Raymond Karam spoke with Gulf News regarding AGSIW’s efforts to strengthen U.S.-Middle East understanding in the Washington, DC policy community: “The story of the institute is that it’s trying to really fill a gap in research about the Gulf states.” Karam continued, “The GCC countries are rising — gaining influence in the region and beyond. So when you look at who are the leaders of the Arab world, the Gulf countries are really at the top. That’s a new development — it happened in the last five to ten years. It needs more focus and understanding in Washington. That relationship is very important now for the United States.”