Over the last decade, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries have energized their role in regional politics, from the use of military intervention, to increased bilateral foreign assistance, to a more robust regional coordination role. This, combined with a perception of U.S. disengagement from the Middle East, has prompted GCC countries to seek and establish strong relations with other centers of power, regionally, and globally. In this second roundtable of the Gulf Rising series, AGSIW looked beyond GCC relations with the United States to examine economic and political ties with Egypt. Roundtable participants explored the regional and domestic issues that have defined Gulf states’ foreign policy choices toward Egypt in the aftermath of the Arab uprisings and the implications for regional stability and U.S. foreign policy. AGSIW will produce a paper summarizing the discussion with policy recommendations.

The discussion was led by Abdel Monem Said Aly, chairman of the board, CEO, and director of the Regional Center for Strategic Studies in Cairo, senior fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University, and AGSIW founding director and honorary chair. He was previously the president of the Ahram Center for Strategic Studies. He obtained his BA from Cairo University and his MA and PhD in political science from Northern Illinois University. His most recent publications are: “State and Revolution in Egypt: The Paradox of Change and Politics,” Brandeis University, Crown Center for Middle East Studies, January 2012; and (with Shai Feldman and Khalil Shikaki) Arabs and Israelis, Conflict and Peace Making, London: Belgrave and MacMillan, 2013.