Southwest Asia

The EastWest Institute, the Water Friends Group and the Permanent Missions of Finland, Hungary, Tajikistan and Thailand are hosting “Ways to Integrate Efforts in Furthering Water Dialogue and Cooperation,” a U.N. side-event on Friday, February 22, at 10:00 a.m at the North Lawn Building of the UN Headquarters in New York City. This event underlines UNGA resolution 65/154 declaring 2013 as the International Year of Water Cooperation (IYWC).

History shows that the vital nature of freshwater is a powerful incentive for cooperation and dialogue, compelling stakeholders to reconcile even their most divergent views. Water more often unites than divides people and societies, yet there is still a great need for more effective and coordinated measures, coupled with a stronger political will at all levels. Governments, international and regional organizations, business communities, scholars, and civil society must effectively address current and emerging freshwater problems.

In this context, the International Year of Water Cooperation is intended to unify all efforts, both undertaken and planned by the UN system, other international and regional organizations, governments, civil society and entrepreneurs, in order to increase people's awareness of freshwater-related problems and ways to resolve them. This follows the 2012 UNGA adopted resolution (A/Res/67/204) on the implementation of the IYWC, through convening a series of global high-level events. 

Speakers:

H. E. Mr. Rahmat Bobokalonov
Minister of  Land Reclamation and Water Resources of the Republic of Tajikistan; Office of the President of the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (tbc)

Mr. Michael Jarraud
Chair to UN-Water

Mr. John Edwin Mroz
President and Chief Executive Officer of the EastWest Institute

Moderator:

Dr. Zafar Adeel
Director of the United Nations University, Institute for Water, Environment and Health

Panelists:

Ms. Josefina Maestu
Coordinator of the UN-Water Decade Programme of Advocacy and Communication

Mr. Olcay Ünver
Coordinator of the United Nations World Water Assessment Programme of the UN-Water and Director of the UNESCO Programme Office on Global Water Assessment

Mr. Sanjay Pahuja
Senior Water Resources Specialist of the World Bank

Ms. Ursula Schaeffer-Preuss
Chair of the Global Water Partnership

To RSVP and secure your U.N. pass, please contact:

Mr. Raymond Karam, email: rkaram@ewi.info, mobile: +1 646-243-2319

Please join the EastWest Institute for a luncheon discussion with the Honorable Fehmida Mirza, Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan and the Honorable Shinkai Karokhail, Member of the Afghan National Assembly and founder of the Afghan Women’s Educational Center (AWEC).

The guests are members of the EastWest Institute’s Parliamentarians Network for Conflict Prevention and its Working Group on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). This group was formed in 2010 to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the passage of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325, which declared that women’s active participation in conflict resolution is essential for building peace and stability. WPS works with parliamentarians worldwide to strengthen the role of women in political life, conflict resolution and peace building, particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

This event is part of a week-long U.S. advocacy trip, organized by the EastWest Institute, to highlight the work of the Parliamentarians Network for Conflict Prevention. The trip concludes with an Awards Dinner on September 27 where the two honorees will be given the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Award for Values-based Leadership. Click here for information about the dinner.

This event is by invitation only. For inquiries, please email Ms. Lisa Treiling at fes.associate@fesny.org.

Watch the live stream here starting at 9:15AM EST: 

The Changing Middle East - Implications for Regional and Global Politics

The recent turmoil in the Middle East has added an unsettled new dynamic to the long-standing policy challenges in the region. Against the backdrop of perennial concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and capabilities and the Middle East peace process, key regional and international actors are grappling with how to address these new instabilities while assuring regional allies and domestic constituencies that the new dynamic does not need to lead to a further, and possibly irreparable, escalation of tension. And as the U.S. presidential election draws near, President Obama faces a daunting task of balancing election year politics, securing U.S. interests in a shifting Middle East while guaranteeing Israel’s security, and de-escalating tensions with Iran through the framework of the P5+1 negotiations.

The CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program and the EastWest Institute present:

A roundtable discussion with:
Viktor Ivanov
Director, Federal Drug Control Service of the Russian Federation
 
Moderated by:

Andrew Kuchins
Director and Senior Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Program, CSIS

Jacqueline McLaren Miller
Senior Associate, U.S. Global Engagement, EastWest Institute

Mr. Viktor Ivanov is on an official visit to the United States for the fifth meeting of the Counternarcotics Working Group of the U.S.-Russia Bipartisan Presidential Commission. His presentation at CSIS is a timely discussion on the growing threats posed by the rising narcotics industry. Russia is in the midst of a drug crisis - President Medvedev has called Russia's drug problem a threat to national security and a matter of urgent attention. The United States and Russia have a program of active counternarcotics cooperation, with special focus on the flow of drugs from Afghanistan.

Fresh off meeting with his U.S. counterpart in Chicago, Mr. Ivanov will offer his views on the present scenario in Russia and Eurasia and discuss the goals and challenges of combatting the narcotics industry and their effect on the global financial and economic downturn.

Seating is limited. Please RSVP to REP@csis.org.

Symposium Description:

The EastWest Institute and Zayed University cordially invite you to an International Symposium: "Creating Stable and Prosperous Communities in the Middle East: Education and Innovation for Economic Security."

JOB CREATION. EDUCATION. INNOVATION. AN END TO VIOLENT EXTREMISM. Bringing together top governmental experts, educators and business leaders from around the world, this day-long symposium will explore one of the most crucial challenges of our time: how to how harness the economy to create a more stable Middle East. Our panelists will advance new strategies and solutions, but WE WANT YOUR IDEAS on how to bring economic security to the region. Join the conversation in a  WORKING LUNCH. Breakthrough-group topics will include women’s empowerment, nurturing entrepreneurship, and fostering better partnerships between industry and academia.  BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION.

Please RSVP to  Raymond Karam

MANAGING BUSINESS RISK THROUGH POLICY ENTREPRENEURSHIP

October 3 – 5, 2011 | Brussels

SELECTED TOPICS

> Emergency Preparedness for an International Crisis in Cyberspace

> Confidence-Building Measures in Cybersecurity

> Measuring the Cybersecurity problem: towards a trusted international entity

> Building National Resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arabian Peninsula

> The G20 and Economic Security: Global Policies and Local Actions

> Meeting the Costs of Collective Security in Southwest Asia to 2020

CRAFTING NEW SOLUTIONS

The eighth annual Worldwide Security Conference (WSC8) aimed to:

> continue EWI’s tradition of articulating new goals for global security and the steps needed to achieve them,

> stimulate progressive improvement in the way global security is managed and reviewed,

> bring together leading policy makers, specialists, business executives, community leaders and journalists from around the world for debate and networking.

INTERNATIONAL PROMINENCE

The World Customs Organization has hosted and co-sponsored the Worldwide Security Conference for the last 6 years. The French Government, in its capacity as Chair of the G8, has agreed to co-sponsor the WSC8. This will continue the trend of G8 Presidential support from the Russian, German, Japanese, Italian and Canadian Governments in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, respectively. The WSC is unique for its emphasis on bridging East-West divides by ensuring that fresh voices from Asia are prominent in the debates. The Council of Europe co-sponsored several workshops of WSC 6 and the Australian and Japanese Governments co-sponsored as special session of WSC 7.

WSC8 EVENTS

> Click here for the image gallery.

> Click here for conference's main day live blog.

> Click here for conference media coverage.

> Conference updates: Update #1 | Udate #2

SELECTED SPEAKERS

Francis Finlay, Co-Chairman, EastWest Institute
General (ret.) Harald Kujat, Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of German Armed Forces and former Chair of NATO’s Military Committee
Christian Masset, Director General of Globalisation, Development and Partnerships, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Paul Nicholas, Senior Director, Global Security Strategy, Microsoft Corporation
Ambassador Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, Former Secretary General, OSCE
Dr. Jaroslaw Pietras, Director-General, Climate change, environment, health, consumers, education, youth, culture, audiovisual, Council of the European Union
Dr. Armen Sarkissian, President, Eurasia House International; Vice-Chairman, EWI’s Board of Directors
Jamie Shea, Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges Division, NATO HQ  
Vladislav P. Sherstuyk, Adviser to the Secretary of the Security Council of  the Russian Federation; Director of Lomonosov Moscow State University Institute of Information Security Issues
Dr. Goran Svilanović, Co-Ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities
Ambassador Yaşar Yakış, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Turkey
Dimitri Zenghelis, Associate Fellow, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Energy, Environment and Development Programme
 

Security Park | AllConferences.Com

The EastWest Institute will bring together leaders from Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, the EU, and the U.S. on February 17, 2010 to determine new strategies to ensure security in Afghanistan and its region. This consultation, part of the seventh annual Worldwide Security Conference, is the third in a series of consultations EWI has convened since February 2009 on alternative futures for the stability of Afghanistan and Southwest Asia.

The consultation is an invitation-only event for high-level participants. If you would like to participate, please contact us for more information.

PARIS. October 13. At the EastWest Institute’s second consultation on “Alternative Futures for Afghanistan and the Stability of Southwest Asia,” hosted by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, speakers pleaded for a more determined process of national reconciliation and a more focused international aid effort in Afghanistan.

The purpose of the event, which builds on the first consultation in Fbreuary 2009, was to highlight views from Afghanistan and its neighbors about measures necessary for stability in the region. It included participants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and international stakeholders including the United States, France, Germany and Russia.

In his keynote speech, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner urged top Afghan politicians Hamid Karzai and opposition leader Abdullah Abdullah to put aside their differences and work together to tackle the current crisis. "Yes, for a national unity government," he said.

Parliamentarians from around the world came together in Amman, Jordan to develop a global action agenda for cooperative management of water resources. In a three-day event, "Improving Regional Cooperation on Water: A Key Opportunity for Preventive Diplomacy," EWI brought together parliamentarians to begin a process to prevent conflicts caused by water shortages.

“Water can be a source of conflict, but equally an opportunity for cooperation in mutual interest,” said Guenter Overfeld, Vice President and Director of Regional Security and Preventive Diplomacy at the EastWest Institute. “The parliamentarians coming together in Amman can help ensure that water becomes a cause for cooperation, not of conflict.”

The process is beginning the generate media attention with coverage in the Jordan Times, which also quotes Overfeld.

This session was hosted under the patronage of Prince El-Hassan bin Talal of Jordan. Also attending were water specialists from civil society and international and regional organizations around the world including the Arab Water Council, the Jordan Valley Authority, UNESCO, U.N.D.P, and the World Bank.

Among the parliamentarians:

• Abdullah Abdullah, Palestinian Territories
• Najat Al-Astal, Palestinian Territories
• Asha Hagi Amin, Somalia
• Angelika Beer, former member of the European Parliament from Germany
• Hazim El-Naser, Jordan
• Glyn Ford, former member of the European Parliament from the United Kingdom
• Abu Holy, Palestininan Territories
• Zitto Kabwe, Tanzania
• Fouad Lahssaini, Belgium
• Luisa Morgantini, former member of the European Parliament from Italy
• Oshita Oshita, former member of the Nigerian Parliament; Director of the Department of Research and Policy Analysis at the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Nigeria
• Sahar Qawasmi,Palestinian Territories
• George Savage, Northern Ireland
• Jafar Shah, Pakistan
• Alaaden Yaghi, Palestinian Territories