The members of the Friends of Yemen, comprising over 30 governments and several international institutions, including the United Nations, World Bank, Arab League, and European Union, gathered for their sixth meeting September 25 in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly. Chaired by the governments of Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom, participants praised Yemen’s efforts to implement a political transition through inclusive and comprehensive dialogue and negotiation—a stark contrast to the course of events in better-known Syria and Egypt.
Last week, MEI scholars Allen Keiswetter, a retired Foreign Service officer, David Newton, former ambassador to Yemen, and Roby Barrett, author of Yemen: A Different Political Paradigm in Context(2011), gathered for an informal discussion about Yemen’s National Dialogue Conference (NDC), which began in March.
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.
In a speech on 23 May 2013, President Obama declared the war on terror over. “We must define our effort not as a boundless ‘global war on terror,’” he said, “but rather as a series of persistent, targeted efforts to dismantle specific networks of violent extremists that threaten America.”[1] He argued that al-Qa`ida is on the run in Afghanistan and Pakistan and no longer threatens the U.S. homeland.
Oman is strategically positioned across the Gulf of Oman from Iran, north of Yemen, and east of Saudi Arabia. It has arguably been able to secure its rapid economic growth—spurred by oil riches—by maintaining neutral, if not friendly, relations with these neighbors, including Iran. Yet while Oman has successfully kept itself neutral, it still inhabits a precarious location. It shares with Iran the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that Iran has threatened to close due to its charged relations with the GCC countries and the United States, who rely on the Strait to transport oil to world markets.
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.
The Middle East Institute is proud to host MEI Scholar Dr. Charles Schmitz for a discussion about Yemen’s political future. Two years after the start of anti-government protests in Yemen, the country remains torn by political divisions and rivalries. Schmitz will examine the political challenges ahead and whether or not the country’s upcoming National Dialogue holds the key to stabilizing Yemen.
The Middle East Institute is proud to host MEI Scholar Dr. Charles Schmitz for a discussion about Yemen’s political future. Two years after the start of anti-government protests in Yemen, the country remains torn by political divisions and rivalries. Schmitz will examine the political challenges ahead and whether or not the country’s upcoming National Dialogue holds the key to stabilizing Yemen.
The Middle East Institute is proud to host MEI Scholar Dr. Charles Schmitz for a discussion about Yemen’s political future. Two years after the start of anti-government protests in Yemen, the country remains torn by political divisions and rivalries. Schmitz will examine the political challenges ahead and whether or not the country’s upcoming National Dialogue holds the key to stabilizing Yemen.
The Middle East Institute is proud to host MEI Scholar Dr. Charles Schmitz for a discussion about Yemen’s political future. Two years after the start of anti-government protests in Yemen, the country remains torn by political divisions and rivalries. Schmitz will examine the political challenges ahead and whether or not the country’s upcoming National Dialogue holds the key to stabilizing Yemen.
The Middle East Institute is proud to host MEI Scholar Dr. Charles Schmitz for a discussion about Yemen’s political future. Two years after the start of anti-government protests in Yemen, the country remains torn by political divisions and rivalries. Schmitz will examine the political challenges ahead and whether or not the country’s upcoming National Dialogue holds the key to stabilizing Yemen.
