The Second Al-Jisr Research Workshop

October 11-14, 2009
Doha, Qatar

The Gulf Research Center, in association with the Center for International and Regional Studies at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, organized the second research workshop. The workshop participants discussed the main controversies between the GCC countries and the key challenges to diversification and sustainability of economic development in the region. Many aspects of bilateral trade between the GCC and the EU countries were addressed, as well as in-house issues such as the correlation between GDP per capita & government efficiency scores, and theories of development and rentier state. The discussions came to the conclusion that trade openness and diversification are complementary although difficult to measure. Societal aspects were debated, among which human capital and the correlation between the development prospects of non-hydrocarbon manufacturing in the GCC and the lack of skill of the domestic workforce. The cluster dealing with financial aspects shed light on the upcoming establishment of the GCC monetary union, the future of the US dollar and the role of the euro. Last but not least, the GCC’s foreign policy tools were scrutinized in the framework of their diversification in security cooperation.