WASHINGTON, July 17, 2023 – The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington is pleased to announce that Bader AlRezaihan has joined the institute’s board of directors.

Bader AlRezaihan is a financier, investor, and entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in private and public markets in the Middle East and internationally and a keen focus on identifying emerging trends and making strategic investments across business cycles and industries. He is the founder and chairman of Mawarid Holding, a Kuwait-based diversified holding company investing across a spectrum of sectors, including technology, energy, and agri-tech. He is the CEO and chairman of Desten, a U.S.-based manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries with a unique value proposition of ultrafast charging cells amid the long-term shift toward global electrification. AlRezaihan is also the founder of NextOn MENA, a regional indoor smart farming venture, in partnership with a leading South Korean technology partner. AlRezaihan plays an active role in international relations. He is the co-founder of the American-Kuwaiti Alliance, a nonprofit seeking to strengthen commercial, trade, and political ties between the United States and Kuwait.

“I am delighted to welcome Bader AlRezaihan to the AGSIW board of directors,” said Ambassador Frank G. Wisner, chair of the board. “Bader is an entrepreneur, financier, and successful innovator both in his native Kuwait and in the United States. I have great confidence that, drawing on his deep well of experience, he will be a great asset to support AGSIW in its core mission to “build bridges of understanding” and forge new and deeper ties between the United States and the states of the Gulf.”

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The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (AGSIW) is an independent, nonprofit institution dedicated to highlighting the importance of the relationship between the United States and the Gulf region through free and open exchange of multiple points of view on issues that concern the Gulf.

AGSIW strives to support this goal by:

• Providing expert analysis and thoughtful debate on the economic, energy, environmental, security, social, cultural, and political dimensions of the Gulf Arab states as well as their relations with the United States and other countries.
• Informing a global audience of policymakers, legislators, businesspeople, academics, media, youth, and others as the foundation for strategic decisions regarding this important region.
• Employing multiple avenues to inform public understanding of the importance of the relationship between the United States and the Gulf Arab states.

Encouraging strong academic coverage by developing scholars who concentrate on the study of the region.