It gives me great pleasure to introduce the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (AGSIW).  I am deeply honored to have been appointed by our Board of Directors as the Institute’s first President to establish this new think tank because I believe that today, more than ever, we need to build bridges of understanding and cooperation across borders and cultures.

In 2015 the Middle East is facing existential threats and challenges that encompass not only the political, violent upheavals we see today, but also the essential questions of political and religious identity.  The AGSIW’s central mission is to develop and sustain an open, two-way dialogue between the U.S. and the Arab Gulf states through a variety of programs and activities that examine these critical issues that are of concern to policy makers and citizens alike.

The Institute will focus on the six countries that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) and will cover the major issues that have an impact on the entire region and US national interests.  While the broader Middle East is widely covered by other institutions in Washington, we believe the Gulf region and the many critical issues it faces today, require more in-depth coverage.   We hope to contribute to that goal by broadening the understanding of the socio-political and economic diversity of the region through expert analysis and programs.

In the coming weeks and months we will be staffing the Institute and we will keep you updated on our programs and publications through our website. 

We welcome your feedback on the first policy papers published this month by three of the Institute’s Non-Resident Scholars: Drs. Vinod Aggarwal, Judith Yaphe and Bahman Baktiari.

Sincerely,

Marcelle M. Wahba
President