27th Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

What Paths Forward For America In And With The Arab Region?

October 31 - November 1, 2018

Atrium Hall
Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center
1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC

• Conference Proceedings
• Watch Select Conference Proceedings on C-SPAN
• Podcasts of Conference Sessions: iTunes, Stitcher, FeedBurner
• Presentation by Dr. Turki Faisal Al Rasheed (pdf)
• About the Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference

Conference Proceedings:

Jump to a specific session by selecting the session title in the list immediately below, or scroll further down to see the complete listing of sessions and speakers.

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

8:45 - 9:00 a.m. — Welcome and Introductions
Podcast (mp3)

Speakers:

Mr. John Pratt – National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Board of Directors Chairman; former Middle East Council of American Chambers of Commerce Chairman.

Dr. John Duke Anthony – National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Founding President and Chief Executive Officer; author, inter alia, of Arab States of the Lower Gulf: People, Politics, Petroleum; Historical and Cultural Dictionary of the Sultanate of Oman and the Emirates of Eastern Arabia; and The United Arab Emirates: Dynamics of State Formation.

9:00 - 10:15 a.m. — Palestine: Trump's Good "Deal?" Bad "Deal?" No "Deal?"
Video
Podcast (mp3)

Chair:

Ms. Anne Joyce – Middle East Policy Council Vice President; Middle East Policy Editor.

Speakers:

Dr. James Zogby – Arab American Institute Founding President; Zogby Research Services Director; former United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Vice Chair; author, Arab Voices: What They Are Saying to Us, and Why it Matters.

Ms. Zaha Hassan – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Visiting Fellow; Al-Shabaka, The Palestinian Policy Network Policy Member; human rights lawyer.

Dr. Elizabeth Campbell – United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Washington Office Director; former United States Department of State Bureau of International Organization Affairs Senior Humanitarian Policy Advisor.

10:30 - 11:45 a.m. — Whither the Energy Dynamics of Arab-U.S. Relations?
Video
Podcast (mp3)

Chair and Speaker:

Dr. Paul Sullivan – National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Senior International Affairs Fellow; National Defense University Professor of Economics; Georgetown University Adjunct Professor for Security Studies; Federation of American Scientists Adjunct Senior Fellow for Future Global Resource Threats.

Speakers:

Dr. Herman Franssen – Energy Intelligence Group Executive Director; International Energy Associates, Inc. President; Center for Strategic and International Studies Senior Associate; Middle East Institute Adjunct Scholar; Centre for Global Energy Studies (London, UK) Visiting Fellow.

Dr. Kenneth Katzman – Library of Congress Congressional Research Service Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Specialist in Middle East Affairs.

Mr. Kent D. Logsdon – United States Department of State Bureau of Energy Resources Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary; former United States Embassy in Germany Chargé d’Affaires.

11:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. — How is the U.S. Viewed in the Arab Region? A Conversation with Dr. Khalaf Al-Habtoor
Video
Podcast (mp3)

Introduction:

Ms. Paige Peterson – National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Board of Directors Member; Huntsman Cancer Foundation Executive Vice President.

Moderator:

Ms. Judith Miller – Manhattan Institute Adjunct Fellow; author and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter.

Featured Speaker:

Dr. Khalaf Al-Habtoor – Al Habtoor Group Chairman; businessman, writer, and philanthropist.

12:15 - 1:00 p.m. — Networking Opportunity

Because of the national and international interest in this year's program, the large number of conference participants, and the diversity of backgrounds and interests represented among the conference attendees, this time is set aside for networking and personal conversations.

1:00 – 3:30 p.m. — Luncheon (Sponsored by LEO A DALY) and Keynote Addresses
Video: HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal Al-Saud
Video: H.E. Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani
Podcast: HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal Al-Saud (mp3)
Podcast: H.E. Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani (mp3)
Podcast: Recognition of Ms. Raghida Dergham for "Achievements in Media" (mp3)
Podcast: Reflections from National Council Programmatic Alumni (mp3)

Welcoming Remarks:

Mr. Leo A. Daly III – LEO A DALY Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Reflections:

National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Programmatic Alumni.

Award Presentation:

Recognition of Ms. Raghida Dergham for "Achievements in Media."

Keynote Speakers:

"How Best to Proceed in the U.S.-Arab Relationship?"

HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal Al-Saud – King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies Chairman; former Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United Kingdom and to the United States; former Saudi Arabian General Intelligence Directorate Director General.

"How is the GCC Coping in a Troubled Region?"

H.E. Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani – Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf Secretary-General; former Bahrain Ministry of Foreign Affairs Adviser at the Rank of Minister; former Bahrain Ministry of the Interior Chief of Public Security.

4:00 – 4:15 p.m. — Reflections from National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Programmatic Alumni
Podcast: Reflections from National Council Programmatic Alumni (mp3)

4:15 – 5:30 p.m. — How Best to Understand Arab-U.S. Cooperation in Defense and Countering Extremism?
Video
Podcast (mp3)

Chair:

Dr. Amin Tarzi – Marine Corps University Director of Middle East Studies; University of Southern California Dornsife Washington, D.C. Program Professor of Practice (Political Science); Foreign Policy Research Institute Program on the Middle East Senior Fellow.

Speakers:

Colonel Abbas K. Dahouk – United States Department of State Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Senior Military Advisor; former Embassy of the United States in Saudi Arabia Defense and Army Attaché.

Mr. Paul Casey – Northrop Grumman Arabia Director of International Business Development; former BAE Systems Business Development executive; former United Kingdom Royal Air Force Air Battle Manager.

Dr. Paul Sullivan

6:00 – 8:00 p.m. — Conference Reception in the Rotunda of the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center

Thursday, November 1, 2018

8:50 – 9:10 a.m. — How to Realize Peace in Yemen?
Video
Podcast (mp3)

Introduction:

Dr. John Duke Anthony

Featured Speaker:

Mr. Mohammed Al-Hadhrami – Embassy of the Republic of Yemen in the United States Deputy Chief of Mission.

9:15 – 9:45 a.m. — What Way Forward in Egyptian-U.S. Relations?
Video
Podcast (mp3)

Introduction:

Ms. Elizabeth Wossen – National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Board of Directors Treasurer; Energy Links Group LLC Principal and Lead Consultant; former Kuwait Petroleum Corporation Congressional and Government Relations Coordinator.

Featured Speaker:

Mr. Mohamed M. Abou El Enein – Cleopatra Group Chairman; Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean Honorary President.

9:45 – 10:00 a.m. — How to Assess Dynamics Impacting U.S. Agency for International Development Programs and Objectives?
Video
Podcast (mp3)

Introduction:

Ms. Cynthia McDonald Anthony – The American University in Cairo Director of Government Relations.

Speaker:

Mr. Hallam Ferguson – U.S. Agency for International Development Bureau for the Middle East Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator; former International Republican Institute Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

10:00 – 11:15 a.m. — What is Next for Regional Dynamics in Arabia and the Gulf?
Video
Podcast (mp3)

Chair:

Dr. John Duke Anthony

Speakers:

Dr. Mohammed Alsulami – International Institute for Iranian Studies Founder and Chairman; Journal for Iranian Studies Editor-in-Chief.

Dr. Abdullah Al Shayji – Kuwait University Professor of International Relations and Post Graduate Political Science Program Director; author, The GCC Crises: The Root Causes, The Mediation Efforts, And the Future of the GCC Alliance.

Mr. Joshua Yaphe – United States Department of State Bureau of Intelligence and Research Arabian Peninsula Analyst.

Dr. Abdullah Baabood – Academic and researcher; former Qatar University Gulf Studies Centre Director; former University of Cambridge (UK) Gulf Research Centre Director.

11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. — How Best to Understand Saudi Arabia's "Vision 2030" Plan?
Video
Podcast (mp3)
Slides from Dr. Turki Faisal Al Rasheed (pdf)

Chair:

Mr. Fahad Nazer – National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations International Affairs Fellow; Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C. Consultant.

Speakers:

Ms. Fatimah Salem A. Baeshen – Embassy of Saudi Arabia in the United States Spokesperson.

Dr. Turki Faisal Al Rasheed – Golden Grass, Inc. Founder and Chief Executive Officer; University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Adjunct Professor; author, Public Governance and Strategic Management Capabilities: Public Governance in the Gulf States.

Ms. Manal Quota – World Bank Education Global Practice Specialist; former United Nations Development Program and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Analyst.

Mr. Hani Ukayli – FTI Consulting Managing Director; former World Bank and Saudi Arabian Atomic and Renewable Regulatory Authority Specialist.

Mr. Mike Ryan – U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council Strategic Markets Advisor.

12:30 - 1:00 p.m. — Networking Opportunity

Because of the national and international interest in this year's program, the large number of conference participants, and the diversity of backgrounds and interests represented among the conference attendees, this time is set aside for networking and personal conversations.

1:00 – 2:30 p.m. — Luncheon and Keynote Discussion
Video: General (Ret.) David Petraeus
Podcast: General (Ret.) David Petraeus (mp3)
Podcast: Reflections from National Council Programmatic Alumni (mp3)

Reflections:

National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations Programmatic Alumni.

Moderator for Discussion:

Ms. Raghida Dergham – Beirut Institute Founder and Executive Chairman; United Nations Dean of Foreign Correspondents; National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations International Advisory Committee Member.

Keynote Discussant:

"How to Analyze American and Arab Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats?"

General (Ret.) David Petraeus – KKR Partner and KKR Global Institute Chairman; former United States Central Intelligence Agency Director; former United States Central Command Commander; National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations International Advisory Committee Member.

3:00 – 4:30 p.m. — Arab-U.S. Relations: Where Are We Going?
Video
Podcast (mp3)

Chair:

Ms. Raghida Dergham

Speakers:

The Right Honourable Mona Makram-Ebeid – The American University in Cairo Distinguished Lecturer of Political Science; former Egyptian Shura Council (Senate) Member; former National Council on Human Rights Committee of Social Rights Head; former Egyptian People's Assembly (Parliament) Member.

Dr. Judith Yaphe – The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs Adjunct Professor; former United States Central Intelligence Agency Office of Near Eastern and South Asian Analysis Senior Analyst

Ms. Mona Yacoubian – United States Institute of Peace Senior Advisor for Syria, the Middle East, and North Africa; former United States Agency for International Development Middle East Bureau Deputy Assistant Administrator.

Dr. William Lawrence – The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs Part-time Professor of Political Science and International Affairs; former Control Risks Middle East and North Africa Associate Director; former Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy Middle East and North Africa Program Director.

Ms. Emily Estelle – American Enterprise Institute Critical Threats Project Senior Analyst and Africa Team Lead.

4:30 – 4:45 p.m. — Closing Remarks
Video
Podcast (mp3)

Speaker:

Dr. John Duke Anthony