Dr. Nawaf Obaid Joins NCUSAR as Fellow & International Advisory Committee Member

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NATIONAL COUNCIL ON U.S.-ARAB RELATIONS WELCOMES DR. NAWAF OBAID AS DISTINGUISHED INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS FELLOW AND MEMBER OF ITS INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Obaid Joins Collective of National Council Scholars and Advisors Contributing Analysis as well as Guiding U.S.-Arab Relations Educational Programs

Washington, DC: The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations [ncusar.org], founded in 1983, is pleased to announce that Dr. Nawaf Obaid has been named a Distinguished International Affairs Fellow and also a member of the Council’s International Advisory Committee. While the Council’s International Advisory Committee does not formally govern the organization, its members make suggestions, recommendations, assist with the Council’s development objectives, and provide strategic support to the Council’s board of directors together with its president and chief executive officer.

In announcing the appointments, National Council Founding President and CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony said, “We are delighted to welcome Dr. Obaid to these two important positions within the Council. His insightful scholarship on Saudi Arabia’s strategic and geopolitical challenges and opportunities is vital to understanding the kingdom’s growing role in regional and world affairs. Dr. Obaid will be a valuable resource and advisor as we work to strengthen and expand the Council’s U.S.-Arab relations leadership development and bridge-building educational efforts.”

On May 22, 2015, Dr. Obaid delivered a presentation titled “Saudi Arabia Ascendant” at a National Council Congressional and public affairs briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The event, held in the Rayburn House Office Building, focused on “Leadership Changes in Saudi Arabia: What Implications for the Kingdom, the Region, and the U.S.?” Slides from Dr. Obaid’s presentation are available on the Council’s website: ncusar.org.

Dr. Obaid has been a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs since September 2012. He is also an Associate Instructor for the Harvard Study Group on the Rehabilitation of the Syrian Refugees and for the Winter Field Study Course in the Middle East. Additionally, Dr. Obaid is a Lecturer at the London Academy of Diplomacy at Stirling University and a Senior Fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies. Further, he serves as the CEO of the Essam and Dalal Obaid Foundation.

From 2004 to 2007, Dr. Obaid was Special Advisor for Strategic Communications to HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal, while Prince Turki served as the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United Kingdom & Ireland, and then to the United States. From 2007 to 2011, Dr. Obaid worked with the Saudi Royal Court. Most recently, he served as Special Counselor to Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf, Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2011 to 2014.

About the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations: Founded in 1983 and based in Washington, DC, the National Council is an American non-profit, non-governmental, educational organization dedicated to improving American knowledge and understanding of the Arab world. Information about the Council’s program, projects, events, and activities can be found at ncusar.org.

Implications of Leadership Changes in Saudi Arabia

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Dr. Nawaf Obaid speaks in the Rayburn House Office Building.

Dr. Nawaf Obaid delivers a presentation titled “Saudi Arabia Ascendant” at a May 22, 2015, NCUSAR briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

On May 22, 2015, the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations and the U.S.-GCC Corporate Cooperation Committee hosted a public affairs briefing on “Leadership Changes in Saudi Arabia: What Implications for the Kingdom, the Region, and the U.S.?” in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC.

The featured specialist and presenter was Dr. Nawaf Obaid, Visiting Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University; Lecturer, London Academy of Diplomacy, Stirling University; and Senior Fellow, King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies. Dr. Obaid delivered a presentation titled “Saudi Arabia Ascendant.” National Council Founding President & CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony served as moderator and facilitator.

A podcast of the program and Dr. Obaid’s slide presentation are available below. The podcast can also be found in iTunes along with recordings of other National Council programs: http://bit.ly/itunes-ncusar.

Dr. John Duke Anthony on Inside Story (Al Jazeera English)

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On May 15, 2015, Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President & CEO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, appeared on Inside Story on Al Jazeera English. The program explored the recently concluded U.S.-GCC Summit in Washington and Camp David, and U.S. pledges to defend its Gulf allies.

Watch Segment

After a Nuclear Agreement: Whither Arab-Iranian and U.S.-GCC Relations?

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after-agreement-300x200On May 12, 2015, the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, the West Asia Council, and the U.S.-GCC Corporate Cooperation Committee hosted a public affairs briefing titled “After a Nuclear Agreement: Whither Arab-Iranian and U.S.-GCC Relations?” in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC.

Featured specialists included: Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; Dr. Christian Koch, Director, Gulf Research Center Foundation (Geneva, Switzerland); Dr. Sara Vakhshouri, President, SVB Energy International, and author, The Marketing and Sale of Iranian Export Crude Oil Since the Islamic Revolution; Dr. Thomas Mattair, Executive Director, Middle East Policy Council, and author, The Three Occupied UAE Islands: The Tunbs and Abu Musa and Global Security Watch – Iran: A Reference Handbook; Dr. Alidad Mafinezam, President, West Asia Council, and author, Iran and Its Place Among Nations; and Dr. Imad Harb, Distinguished International Affairs Fellow, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Mr. John Pratt, Member, Board of Directors, and Distinguished International Affairs Fellow, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, served as moderator.

A video recording and a podcast of the program are available below. The podcast can also be found in iTunes along with recordings of other National Council programs: http://bit.ly/itunes-ncusar.

“After a Nuclear Agreement: Whither Arab-Iranian and U.S.-GCC Relations?” podcast (.mp3)

Upcoming Event: “Implications of Leadership Changes in Saudi Arabia” – May 22 in Washington, DC

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On May 22, 2015, the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations and the U.S.-GCC Corporate Cooperation Committee are hosting a public affairs briefing titled “Leadership Changes in Saudi Arabia: What Implications for the Kingdom, the Region, and the U.S.?”

The featured specialist will be Mr. Nawaf Obaid, Visiting Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University; Lecturer, London Academy of Diplomacy, Stirling University; and Senior Fellow, King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies. Serving as moderator and facilitator will be Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; and Member, U.S. Department of State Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy and Subcommittee on Sanctions.

DATE & TIME:

May 22, 2015
9:00 – 9:30 a.m. – Coffee & Tea / Networking
9:30 – 11:00 a.m. – Remarks / Q&A

LOCATION:

Rayburn House Office Building
Room B-369
45 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20515

REGISTRATION:

The event is free but R.S.V.P. (acceptances only) online: http://conta.cc/1AZMUTC or via email to rsvp@ncusar.org is required.

Please note: seating capacity is limited. Include the following information when you R.S.V.P.:
Name:
Company:
Title:
Phone:
Email:

If you have any questions you can call the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations at (202) 293-6466.

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The GCC-U.S. Summit: An Opportunity for Strategic Reassurance?

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An unprecedented and extraordinary event is about to occur: a heads of state summit. These, by any standard, can be and often are extraordinary events. That’s what this one is. It is so because it gathers in the capital of the United States President Barack Obama with the representatives of the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The two-day summit is set for May 13-14, 2015.

GCC leaders are scheduled to meet with the president in Washington on day one and on day two gather with him in the more capacious and secluded confines of Camp David. The latter venue is a longtime private presidential meeting place in the Maryland foothills, which is conducive to wide-ranging and deeply probing discussions on matters of common, timely, and varying degrees of urgent interest to the president, his advisers, his guests, and their advisers. The focus of this essay is the issues, challenges, and opportunities that will focus the principals’ attention while there.

The Summit’s Participants in Context

That the summit is occurring at this time is no mere coincidence. In terms of the GCC-U.S. relationship, it brings to the forefront the chief representative of the world’s most militarily, economically, and technologically advanced nation. Joining him will be the leaders of six neighboring Arab Gulf countries from what is arguably the world’s most strategically vital region that are little known and even less well understood by the American people as a whole.

What needs to be better comprehended by the American public regarding these countries are the roots and nature of their multifaceted strategic importance not just to their peoples and immediate region, but also the United States and the world in general. To begin with, the six GCC countries possess thirty per cent of the planet’s proven reserves of oil, the vital strategic commodity that drives the world’s economies. Collectively, they are also the holders of the developing world’s largest reservoir of financial assets, as measured in the trillions of dollars.

Crude Oil 2014 Proved Reserves.

In addition, the GCC countries have no rivals in their combined positive impact on the American aerospace and defense industries. In the past half-decade, their purchases of U.S.-manufactured defense and security structures, systems, technology, weaponry, ammunition, training, maintenance, and operational assistance have massively impacted and continue to impact the American economy.

The dynamism and mutuality of benefits in the U.S.-GCC relationship are envied by virtually every country that wishes it could accomplish anything remotely similar.

The purchases of American export goods and services by these countries have provided jobs essential to the material wellbeing of millions of Americans. They have extended production lines of products that would otherwise no longer be available. As a consequence, they have lowered the cost per unit of many American manufactured goods. In so doing, they have thereby enhanced the competitiveness of this component of the American economy to a degree envied by virtually every government or corporation in other countries that would wish they could accomplish anything remotely similar.

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Upcoming Event: “Whither Arab-Iranian and U.S.-GCC Relations?” – May 12 in Washington, DC

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On May 12, 2015, the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, the West Asia Council, and the U.S.-GCC Corporate Cooperation Committee are hosting a public affairs briefing titled “After a Nuclear Agreement: Whither Arab-Iranian and U.S.-GCC Relations?“ Featured specialists include:

  • Dr. John Duke Anthony, Founding President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; Member, U.S. Department of State Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy and Subcommittee on Sanctions; Author, “Strategic Dynamics of Iran-GCC Relations”;
  • Dr. Christian Koch, Director, Gulf Research Center Foundation (Geneva, Switzerland); former Director of International Studies, Gulf Research Center (Dubai, UAE);
  • Dr. Sara Vakhshouri, President, SVB Energy International; Author, The Marketing and Sale of Iranian Export Crude Oil Since the Islamic Revolution;
  • Dr. Thomas Mattair, Executive Director, Middle East Policy Council; Author,The Three Occupied UAE Islands: The Tunbs and Abu Musa and Global Security Watch – Iran: A Reference Handbook;
  • Dr. Alidad Mafinezam, President, West Asia Council; Author, Iran and Its Place Among Nations; and
  • Dr. Imad Harb, Distinguished International Affairs Fellow, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; former Senior Researcher in Strategic Studies, Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Mr. John Pratt, Member, Board of Directors, and Distinguished International Affairs Fellow, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, and former Chairman, Middle East Council of the American Chambers of Commerce, will serve as moderator.

DATE & TIME:

May 12, 2015
8:30 – 9:00 a.m. – Coffee & Tea / Networking
9:00 – 11:00 a.m. – Remarks / Q&A

LOCATION:

Rayburn House Office Building
Room B-369
45 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20515

REGISTRATION:

The event is free but R.S.V.P. (acceptances only) online: http://conta.cc/1ce4j5x or via email to rsvp@ncusar.org is required.

Please note: seating capacity is limited. Include the following information when you R.S.V.P.:
Name:
Company:
Title:
Phone:
Email:

If you have any questions you can call the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations at (202) 293-6466.

Continue reading »