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Bertrand Viala is a regional policy advisor and competitive intelligence expert based in the United Arab Emirates. With over 15 years of continuous research experience in Turkey and the Middle East, Viala, started his career at the French Ministry of Defense, and worked as the regional director of French strategic intelligence firm Serenus Conseil (Amarante Group). Opening his own strategy consultancy in the UAE and Turkey, Viala has also collaborated for two years with Dubai based strategic intelligence firm Five Dimensions, as an expert on Turkish foreign policy. Viala is a regular commentator on Turkish public policy and regional developments on Phoenix TV (China) and in France’s Les Echos newspaper. He is also an advisor to Washington D.C. based Gulf State Analytics and is the representative of Paris-based ESL&Network for its lobbying branch in Turkey and in the Northern Emirates. Viala received his M.A. in political science from McGill University (Canada).
China-Turkey Relations Grow Despite Differences over Uighurs
Since the failed coup attempt of July 15, 2016, Turkey has been looking east for new partners to decrease Ankara’s dependence on traditional Western allies. The election of Donald Trump has contributed to the further estrangement of Turkey’s relationship with its traditional NATO allies, leaving Ankara less comfortable remaining so reliant on Washington for regional security matters.
