Since the 1970s oil boom, the Gulf region has been one of the principal destinations for workers from South Asia, with the result that today Indians constitute a large percentage of the non-nationals living in the region. Indeed, at five million out of an estimated 15 million people, the Indian community forms the largest expatriate group in each of the Gulf countries. Most Indian immigrants are from the south Indian state of Kerala, while many of the rest originate from Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.
When the young Shaykh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani became ruler of Qatar last month after his father stepped aside in a seamless transition, one of his first official acts was to seal the generational shift by appointing a new prime minister.
Interview with Indian Ambassador (ret.) Ranjit Gupta: Cairo, Egypt — The First Posting (1965-1968)
Even before I left India for Cairo, I had the impression that there was a special relationship between India and Egypt. Indeed, within a few weeks of my arrival in Cairo, I found tangible manifestations that it was indeed so and discovered many more in due course.
Migration Agreements between Italy and North Africa: Domestic Imperatives versus International Norms
The upheavals which spread across North Africa in 2011 changed the political map of the region. With the downfall of longstanding rulers, the European Union has sought to re-launch a policy dialogue informed by an awareness of human rights issues and to support the process of democratic transition in its Mediterranean neighbors.
This Opinion was first published on Reuters.com on October 11, 2012
Assertions and opinions in this policy paper are solely those of the above-mentioned author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Middle East Institute, which expressly does not take positions on Middle East policy.
After Benghazi: Diplomacy With a State; War Within
This article was first published by The Huffington Post on October 2, 2012
Assertions and opinions in this publication are solely those of the above-mentioned author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Middle East Institute, which expressly does not take positions on Middle East policy.
Libya, the third largest country in the African continent (1.75 million km²), shares 4,400 km of border with six other countries, four of which are Arab countries. It has a vast coastal area on the Mediterranean (nearly 2,000 km). For such a large country, its population density is very thin — there are barely six million inhabitants.
Slain U.S. Ambassador Thrived On Tough Assignments
This story first appeared on NPR.com on September 12, 2012
Chris Stevens, the U.S. ambassador killed in an attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was a very special diplomat. He made a career of going to difficult places and insisting that he witness tumultuous events firsthand.
