The Middle East Research Institute is organizing a joint conference with Al Sharq Forum, featuring a high-level delegation of Turkish policy-makers, academics and journalists. Together with KRG representatives and local influential figures they will discuss an array of topics related to the Turkey-KRG relations. During the course of the day, the following themes will be in focus:
Turkey’s Kurdish Peace Process: Past, Present and Future Prospects
- Where is Turkey in the Kurdish Peace Process
- The regional context of Turkey’s Kurdish Peace Process
- Kurdish peace process: What role for the KRG
- The Kurdish Peace Process: An imperative for intra-Kurdish reconciliation in a regional setting
- Turkey’s media & civil society, and the peace process: a facilitating force or an impediment
Turkey and the Kurdistan Regional Government: Politics, Economy and Security (I)
- Transformation in the regional politics and its implication on Turkey – KRG relations
- Turkey and the KRG relations in pre and post-ISIS period?
- Turkey and KRG’s view on war on ISIS
Turkey and the Kurdistan Regional Government: Politics, Economy and Security (II)
- The case for closer cooperation between Turkey and the KRG in a crisis-ridden region
- Turkey-KRG-Baghdad triangle: View from Baghdad
- The prospect of cooperation between Turkey , the KRG, and Iraq under a new government in Baghdad
- Business as the catalyst of Turkey – KRG relations: prospects and challenges
- Turkey and the KRG: an energy partnership in motion?
The Turkish delegation consists of:
- Taha Ozhan, Chief Adviser to Prime Minister
- Dr. Hatem Ete, Chief Adviser to Prime Minister
- Etyen Mahcupyan, Chief Adviser to Prime Minister
- Galip Dalay, Vice President of Al Sharq Forum & Senior Associate Fellow on Turkey and Kurdish Affairs, Al Jazeera Center for Studies.
- Yilmaz Ensaroglu, Director of Law and Human Rights, SETA Foundation & Member of Wise Men Commission on the settlement of Kurdish issue in Turkey
- Vahap Coskun, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Dicle University
- Ahmet Yildiz, Director of Research Service, Grand National Assembly of Turkey
- Mensur Akgun, Professor of International Relations, Kultur University; Columnist with Star daily, and Co-founder of Global Political Trends Center
- Mesut Ozcan, Adviser to Prime Minister and Vice President of Strategic Research Center, in-house think tank of Turkey’s Foreign Ministry
- Ozge Genc, Director, Democratization Program, The Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
- Ayse Ustunel Yircali, General Director, The Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
- Yunus Akbaba, adviser at the Prime Ministry, Turkey
- Halime Kokce, Columnist with Star daily and editor of Star daily’s weekly opinion supplement, Acik Gorus
- Erkam Ensarioglu, Expert at the Ministry of Energy with a special focus on Turkey – KRG energy relations
- Mustafa Kemal Dagdelen, Expert at Public Diplomacy Office, Prime Ministry
- Metin Tuguta, Head of TRT World (Turkish Radio and Television broadcasting corporations’ English language TV)
- Huseyin Yayman, Associate Professor at Gazi University, Columnist with Vatan daily, and a member of Wise Men Commission
- Mesut Yegen, Professor of Sociology at Istanbul Sehir University, Editor-in-chief of bi-monthly Kurt Tarihi (Kurdish History) magazine
- Serdar Bulent Yilmaz, Head of Ozgur-Der, Diyarbakir
- Cetiner Cetin, Journalist, Yeni Safak daily
- Fazıl Husnu Erdem, Professor, Law Faculty, Dicle University
- Mustafa Karalioglu, Consultant to NTV and former president of Star Media Group