This programme remains provisional, subject to changes.
Day 1: Tuesday, 25 October, 2016
12.00 Registration
13.45 Introduction & Welcome
14.00 Session 1: The Economic Crisis; Lessons learnt?
§ Muzhir Mohammed Salih, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Iraq
§ Ashti Hawrami, Minister of Natural Resources, KRG
§ Patrick Simonnet, Ambassador/Head, EU Delegation to Iraq (Chair)
15.45 Coffee Break
16.15 Session 2: The Kurdish opposition parties in Iran: aspirations amid fragmentation
§ Ibrahim Alizada, Iranian Communist Party (Komal)
§ Khalid Azizi, Kurdistan Democratic Party (Iran)
§ Mustafa Hijri, Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan
§ Omar Ilkhanizadeh Iranian Komala Party of Kurdistan
§ Abdulla Muhtadi, Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan
***
Day 2: Wednesday, 26 October, 2016
08.00 Registration & Welcome
09.00 Session 3: Reconciliation after IS: improving relationships and reconnecting communities
§ Lise Grande, UN’s Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General
§ Falah Mustafa, Minister, Head of Department of Foreign Affairs, KRG
§ Osama Al-Gharizi, United States Institute for Peace, USA
§ Mohammed Salman, National Reconciliation in Prime Minister’s Office
§ Otmar Oehring, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Germany (Chair)
*Paper presentation:
-Dave van Zoonen, Research Fellow, MERI
-Haider Ibrahimi, Executive Director of Sanad for Peacebuilding
10.45 Break
11.15 Session 4: Liberating Mosul: Political and Security Solutions
§ Rafe Al-Esawi, Former Deputy Prime Minister, Iraq
§ Nawfal Hamadi, Governor of Mosul
§ Atheel Al-Nujaifi, Former Governor of Mosul
§ Kenneth Gross, US Consul General in Erbil.
§ Michael Knights, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, USA
§ Dylan O’Driscoll, Middle East Research Institute (Chair)
13.00 Lunch
14.00 Session 5: Governing Iraq
§ Salim Al-Jobouri, Speaker of Iraqi Parliament
§ Ammar Al-Hakim, Head of Islamic Supreme Council, Iraq
§ Barham Salih, Former Prime Minister of KRG
15.45 Break
16.15 Session 6: Visions for the future of the Kurdistan Region: A debate with the Prime Minister.
§ Nechirvan Barzani, Prime Minister of Kurdistan Region.
17:30 End of Day Two
***
Day 3: 27 October, 2016
08.00 Registration & Welcome
09.00 Session 7: A conflict sensitive EU approach to conflict and crisis in the Middle East.
§ Morten Bøås, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Norway
§ Steven Blockmans, Centre for European Policy Studies, Belgium
§ Tine Gade, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Norway
§ Athanasios Manis, Middle East Research Institute (Chair)
10.30 Break
11.00: Session 8: Global Power dynamics in the Middle East: Conflict and Collaboration
§ Kenneth Pollack, The Brookings Institute, USA
§ Clarisse Pasztory, Delegation of the European Union to Iraq
§ Max Hoffman, Center for American Progress, USA
§ Irene Costantini, Research Fellow, MERI (Chair)
12.30 Lunch
13.30 Session 9: Regional Power Dynamics: Conflict and Collaboration
§ Cengiz Candar, Journalist and Writer, Turkey
§ Jamal Khashoggi, General Manager, Alarab TV, KSA
§ Walter Posch, National Defence Academy, Austria
§ Tanya Gilly, Former Member of Iraqi Parliament (Chair)
15.00 Break
15.30: Session 10: Local Power Dynamics in Kurdistan: Visions for the Future
§ Salahaddin Bahaddin, Leader of Islamic Union of Kurdistan
§ Ali Bapeer, Ameer of Islamic Group of Kurdistan
§ Mohammed Haji Mahmoud, Leader, Kurdistan Socialist Democratic Party
17.00: Session 11: Local Power Dynamics in Kurdistan: Visions for the Future
§ Mala Bakhtiar, Politburo member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
§ Fazil Mirani, Politburo member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party
18.15 Concluding remarks.
18.30 End of Forum
***
