Virtual ThinkTalk: ``Biden and the nuclear deal conundrum - an Arab-Gulf view``
Five years after the signing of the ‘Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action’ (JCPOA), the US has realized that piecemeal deals do not work and regional security has not improved. Dr. Dania Koleilat-Khatib, President of the Research Cooperation Center for Peace Building (RCCP) discussed how President-elect, Joe Biden, might approach this conundrum.
The Virtual Think Talk was moderated by Mahmood Abdul Ghaffar, Research Analyst at Derasat, took place on Wednesday 9th December at 16.30 (Bahrain-time) via Zoom.
Dr. Dania Koleilat-Khatib is co-founder and President of the Research Center for Cooperation and Peace Building (RCCP), a Lebanese NGO focused on Track II. She is also an affiliated scholar at the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and a member of the steering committee for the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) National Agenda for the Future of Syria (NAFS) programme. She specializes in US-Arab relations and has a special interest in Syria. Dania is editor of, ‘The Syrian Crisis: Effects on Regional and International Relations (Aug 2020) and has previously authored, ‘The Arab Lobby: Factors for Success and Failure’ (2016) and was first editor for, ‘The Arab Gulf States and the West: Perceptions and Realities – Opportunities and Perils’ (2019). She is a weekly columnist in the Saudi newspaper Arab News and makes regular appearances on a series of Middle Eastern TV stations. Dr. Dania has co-directed, participated and presented scholarly papers in numerous conferences and workshops. She has been a guest speaker on several high-profile platforms such as NATO, European Parliament and the Heritage Foundation. She holds a PhD in Politics from the University of Exeter as well as an MBA and a BBA from the AUB.
Moderator
Mahmood Abdul Ghaffar is a Research Associate at the Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies (Derasat). He currently works in the Strategic and International Studies Department. Mahmood’s research interests include international geopolitics, Arab Gulf-China relations, Middle East regional security and Arab Gulf-Sino relations. He completed the First Deputy Prime Minister Fellowship Program in 2017. Mahmood previously worked as an intern with the United Nations Development Program and Ernst & Young. He has a Master in Business Administration from the University of Sharjah, UAE, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the American University in Washington DC.