The Gulf Research Center (GRC) is a privately funded, non-partisan think tank, education provider and consultancy specializing in the Persian Gulf region. The GRC produces research from a Gulf perspective which redresses a current area studies imbalance wherein regional opinions and interests are underrepresented. Based in Jeddah, and the foundation, now based in Geneva[1], the GRC was founded in July 2000 by Abdulaziz Sager, the current chairman.
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GRC activities
The Gulf Research Center focus is on four interdisciplinary areas: social science research, education, news media and consultancy. These include social science in the context of the Persian Gulf region, international relations and politics of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, E-Education, Executive Learning Programs, the GRC E-Library and the "Gulf in the Media" news portal.
Specialized GRC publications include Araa Magazine, an independent magazine about social, defense and security issues in the Gulf; Yemen Studies, a peer reviewed bilingual academic series about Yemen and Yemen-GCC relations; and the GRC Newsletter.
The GRC maintains cooperation agreements with major partners such as Emirates Bank, Shell, Glaxo Smith Kline, the University of Queensland, the Saudi Arabian Marketing and Agencies Company (SAMACO) group, the National Defence College and the FRIDE Foundation.
2006
Beginning with its 3rd Annual Conference in January 2006, the GRC took part in or organised over two dozen conferences, workshops and seminars which included:
GRC publications in 2006 included the Gulf Yearbook and the Green Gulf Report, ten research papers including "Impact of the Disbandment of the Iraqi army on the Security Situation in Iraq," ten Gulf papers including "The Arab Gulf States: Further steps towards political participation," ten Gulf Translations, and three Gulf Theses including one about GCC-EU relations.
2007
GRC held its 4th Annual Conference, “The consequences of US Policies in the Gulf Region,” on January 13 and 14, 2007.