On Thursday, March 28th, ORF America hosted a group of young professionals for an after hours discussion with Michael Singh and Dr. Hussein Ibish. Mr. Singh is currently the Managing Director and Lane-Swig Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute, and a former senior director for Middle East affairs at the National Security Council. Dr. Ibish is a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute. He previously served as a senior fellow at the American Task Force on Palestine, and as executive director of the Hala Salaam Maksoud Foundation for Arab-American Leadership.

The purpose of this edition of Briefings & Beer was to explore the drivers, outcomes, and future of geopolitical transformations in the Middle East. Rather than focusing on immediate developments involving Israel and Gaza, the conversation focused on how longer term security, development, and energy trends are going to be affected, and what their implications are for relations with the United States, Europe, China, and India. It also covered the emerging strategic and economic interests of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. Questions from the audience addressed Qatar’s diplomatic partnerships and prospects for peace talks in the region. 

This was the sixth convening of the Briefings & Beer series, which is organized by ORF America for young professionals in Washington, DC. The series offers young professionals the opportunity to informally engage with distinguished foreign policy experts,  as well as a platform to network with peers. Participants come from the U.S. Government, Congress, think tanks, graduate programs, and the private sector.