Together with Wilton Park, the NATO Defense College co-organized an International Research Seminar on “Managing Conflict in the Middle East: the role of regional actors” at Wiston House (West Sussex – United Kingdom) from 30th November to 3rd December.
Fifty high-level participants, including ambassadors, members of parliaments, prominent journalists, top policy makers and former ministers representing NATO Allies as well as Middle Eastern countries discussed the role of regional actors in helping to escape from the current deadlock in the conflict in the Middle East.
Against the background of US Government efforts to reactivate Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, the participants tried to identify a broader dynamic for mediation and conflict resolution coming from within the Middle East itself. They analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of regional actors, including Türkiye, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and other Arab States in dealing with this delicate issue. They also stressed the potentially important role that could be played in the process by regional organizations such as the Arab League, NATO and the European Union. They tried finally to describe the prospects for a more collective regional and international approach to security.
Wilton Park is a residential conference centre of international repute for the discussion of key international policy issues. It is an academically independent and non-profit-making Executive Agency of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Wilton Park contributes to the resolution of global policy challenges by bringing together the best possible range of individuals from around the world. Their style of conferences forges links between ideas, policy and delivering results in a practical way, within a setting that is conducive to dialogue and problem solving.
The NATO Defense College Research Division has for years been itself running a widely recognized research programme focusing on Northern African, Middle Eastern and Gulf issues. This academic research programme is part of the NATO Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) partnerships that the Atlantic Alliance has concluded with seven Mediterranean countries (Morocco, Mauritania, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Israel) and four Gulf countries (Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and UAE).
This cooperative initiative of the NATO Defense College Research Division and Wilton Park proved to be very effective and allowed the participants to share innovative views and ideas on a very fruitful manner.
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