In August 2022, I was asked to join the project on ‘Asia in the GCC: A New Strategic Partner?’ by Dr. Adel Abdel Ghafar of the Middle East Council on Global Affairs (MECGA) in Doha, Qatar. MECGA (formerly the Brookings Doha Center) had the proposal to hold two international conferences, one in the Gulf (MECGA in Doha) and another in Asia (Waseda University in Tokyo) and the vision to amass the views of experts on Asia-Gulf relations and to update it reflecting the steadfast developments of geopolitical changes in the Gulf through the project. Coincidentally, it fell on the final leg of my Gulf trip, which I had been planning for in order to visit NYU Abu Dhabi and to provide a talk there. It was my first trip to Doha. Qatar held the World Cup the following winter, and went through a series of transformations. In continuation of my work with MECGA, I will be joining MECGA as a visiting fellow in one week, from August 1, 2023 for one year, to work on my new project, South Korea-GCC Relations: Energy, Technology, Security.
Following the conference in Doha organized by the Middle East Council on Global Affairs (Doha, Qatar, September 18-19, 2022), another one was organized by Dr. Abdullah Baabood, who holds the Waseda University Qatar Chair (Tokyo, Japan, February 27-28, 2023).
To read the English version of the dossier, please click the report on the right above.
For the Arabic version of the dossier, please click the report on the right below.
- June Park. ‘South Korea in the Gulf: Emboldening Economic and Political ties with the GCC amid the U.S.-China Tech Conflict,’ in Adel Abdel Ghafar and Abdullah Baabood eds., ‘Asia in the GCC: A New Strategic Partner?’ Middle East Council on Global Affairs (MECGA) & Waseda University Qatar Chair. July 12, 2023.
- كوريا الجنوبية في منطقة الخليج ما بعد الجائحة: تعزيز العلاقات الاقتصادية والسياسية مع دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي وسط الصراع التكنولوجي بين الولايات المتحدة والصين – جون بار
#MECouncil wrapped up a 2 days workshop in partnership with @waseda_univ in Tokyo on “Asia in the GCC: A New Strategic Partner?” The workshop brought together experts and practitioners to discuss the future of Asia-GCC relations. #Asia #GCC pic.twitter.com/fwP0FmZzcw
— Middle East Council on Global Affairs (@ME_Council) February 28, 2023
