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Abdullah Mohtadi Shares his Views on Regional Politics with MERI Staff

“Innovative approaches and evidence-based strategies are what we need in Middle East politics” noted the Secretary General of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan in his visit to MERI on August 23, 2016. Mohtadi met MERI Research Fellows, and staff and exchanged views on regional politics, Middle Eastern stability and Kurdish politics.

Mr Mohtadi and MERI staff, including Professor Dlawer Ala’Aldeen, Mr Fuad Smail and Mr Hawraman Ali, discussed the current political dynamics, including the role of the Kurdish political parties as local actors.  They agreed that it was essential for all Kurdish parties to remain committed to promoting democracy, pluralism and tolerance.

Mr Mohtadi, a highly experienced politician and an economist by training, appreciated the importance of think tanks, and research institutes in promoting human rights and contributing towards building a better Middle East.

In this context, he expressed his willingness to engage with MERI and take part in its research, seminars and conferences.  This offer was welcomed by Ala’Aldeen who explained the nature of MERI’s work, and stressed the importance of remaining as an impartial and academically focused institution.  “MERI has been and will remain at equal distance between all actors, locally, regionally and internationally”, he added.

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About MERI:  The Middle East Research Institute is Iraq’s leading policy-research institute and think tank. It is an independent, entirely grant-funded not-for-profit organisation, based in Erbil, Kurdistan Region.  Its mission is to contribute to the process of nation-building, state-building and democratisation via engagement, research, analysis and policy debates.

MERI’s main objectives include promoting and developing human rights, good governance, the rule of law and social and economic prosperity. MERI conduct high impact, high quality research (including purpose-based field work) and has published extensively in areas of: human rights, government reform, international politics, national security, ISIS, refugees, IDPs, minority rights (Christians, Yezidis, Turkmen, Shabaks, Sabi mandeans), Baghdad-Erbil relations, Hashd Al-Shabi, Peshmarga, violence against women, civil society. MERI engages policy- and decision-makers, the civil society and general public via publication, focused group discussions and conferences (MERI Forum).

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