H.E. Ahmed Abu Zeid
Ambassador of Egypt to Canada
MAY 11–12, 2022
Middle EastStrategy Forum 2022
Delta Hotel, Downtown Ottawa
ABOUT THE
CONFERENCE
The Institute for Peace & Diplomacy (IPD) is pleased to host its second annual Middle East Strategy Forum (MESF 2022) on May 11–12, 2022 in Ottawa, Canada.
Over 250 foreign policy and defence professionals, diplomats, lawmakers and bureaucrats, think-tankers and business leaders are expected to attend this 2-day conference at Delta Hotel in downtown Ottawa.
With support from the MINDS program at the Canadian Department of National Defence, MESF 2022 will be hosted in a hybrid format, convening in-person and virtual keynote speeches, expert round-tables and networking sessions.
The theme for this year’s conference is ‘Deconstructing the Changing Middle East Security Architecture’. It encourages active engagement and discussion around recent geostrategic developments in the Middle East that are swiftly shaping a new regional security order.
More than 40 renowned speakers and foreign policy experts from the Middle East, Europe and North America are expected to participate in MESF 2022 and to engage in constructive discussions around current and emerging strategic issues in the Middle East and their implications for the North Atlantic bloc.
Speakers
H.E. Kerim Uras
Ambassador of Turkey to Canada
H.E. Stephan Klement
EU Ambassador - Permanent Representative of the European Union to the United Nations in Vienna - EEAS Special Advisor on Iran Nuclear Issue
H.E. Wadee Al-Batti
Ambassador of Iraq to Canada
Amy Tachco
Director of Regional and Multilateral Affairs, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at U.S. Department of State
Wolfgang Amadeus Brülhart
Swiss Special Envoy for Middle East and North Africa
Susan Ziadeh
Former US Ambassador to Qatar; Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arabian Peninsula Affairs
Itamar Rabinovich
Former Israeli Ambassador to the United States; former President of Tel Aviv University; Distinguished Fellow at the Brookings Institution
Ulric Shannon
Canada’s former Ambassador to Iraq; Resident Senior Director, West Bank and Gaza, National Democratic Institute (NDI)
Peggy Mason
Former Canadian Ambassador to the UN for Disarmament; President, Rideau Insitute on International Affairs
Ferry de Kerckhove
Canada’s former Ambassador to Egypt; Senior Fellow at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa
Jon Allen
Canada’s former Ambassador to Israel; Advisor, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy
Gordon Venner
Former Associate Deputy Minister, Department of National Defence; Canada’s former Ambassador to Iran
Aaron David Miller
Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abdullah Baabood
Chair of the State of Qatar for Islamic Area Studies and Visiting Professor, School of International Liberal Studies, Waseda University
Erin Sikorsky
Former Deputy Director, Strategic Futures Group, US National Intelligence Council
Lawrence Wilkerson
Retired United States Army Colonel; Former Chief of Staff to US Secretary of State Colin Powell
Chris Kilford
Former Canadian Defense Attaché to Turkey; Fellow, Centre for International and Defence Policy, Queen’s University
Major-General (Retired) David Fraser
Retired Canadian Forces officer, former Commander of Canadian and NATO forces in Afghanistan
Nasser Hadian
Professor, University of Tehran; Former Director, Political Development, Center for Strategic Research
Peter Jones
Executive Director, Ottawa Dialogue; former Senior Analyst, Privy Council of Canada
Suzanne DiMaggio
Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Assaf Orion
Senior Research Fellow & Director, Israel-China Research Program, Institute for National Security Studies
Gönül Tol
Director, Turkey Program & Senior Fellow, Frontier Europe Initiative
Mohsen Milani
Executive Director, Center for Strategic & Diplomatic Studies; Professor of Politics, University of South Florida
Miloud Chennoufi
Chair, Department of Defence Studies, Canadian Forces College
Hassan Ahmadian
Assistant Professor, University of Tehran; Research Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Centre
Eric Brewer
Senior Director, Nuclear Threat Initiative; Former Director for Counterproliferation, US National Security Council
David Carment
Professor, Carleton University; Senior Fellow, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy
Trita Parsi
Executive Vice President, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
Nipa Banerjee
Senior Fellow, School of International Development & Global Studies, University of Ottawa
Jerome Drevon
Senior Analyst in Jihad and Modern Conflict, International Crisis Group
Joshua Landis
Chair Director, Center of Middle East Studies & Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies, University of Oklahoma
Kelley Vlahos
Senior Advisor, Quincy Institute; Editorial Director, Responsible Statecraft
Ali Vaez
Senior Adviser to the President & Project Director for Iran, International Crisis Group
George Beebe
Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for the National Interest
Zachary Paikin
Research Fellow, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy; Researcher, Centre for European Policy Studies
Mohammed Mahmoud
Senior Fellow & Director, Climate & Water Program, Middle East Institute
Max Abrahms
Associate Professor, Northeastern University; Senior Fellow, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy
Ayat Soliman
Regional Director, Sustainable Development Department Middle East and North Africa Region, World Bank
Elizabeth Hagedorn
US State Department Correspondent, Al-Monitor
Max Hoffman
Director of National Security and International Policy at American Progress
Galip Dalay
Associate Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House
Wenran Jiang
Advisor, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy; President of Canada-China Energy and Environment Forum
Farid Tookhy
Senior Fellow, Institute for Peace and Diplomacy; Lecturer, University of Ottawa
Younes Zangiabadi
Executive Vice President, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy
Bijan Ahmadi
Executive Director, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy
Conference
Program
Day 1
May 11, 2022
Day 2
May 12, 2022
Registration & Breakfast
Words of Welcome
Bijan Ahmadi
Executive Director, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy
Keynote: Future of U.S. Involvement in the Middle East and the Role of Alliances in Advancing Peace and Security in the Region
Bijan Ahmadi
Executive Director, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy
Amy Tachco
Director of Regional and Multilateral Affairs, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at U.S. Department of State
The Emerging Security Architecture in the Middle East
Elizabeth Hagedorn
US State Department Correspondent, Al-Monitor
Hassan Ahmadian
Assistant Professor, University of Tehran; Research Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Centre
Peter Jones
Executive Director, Ottawa Dialogue; former Senior Analyst, Privy Council of Canada
Abdullah Baabood
Chair of the State of Qatar for Islamic Area Studies and Visiting Professor, School of International Liberal Studies, Waseda University
Susan Ziadeh
Former US Ambassador to Qatar; Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arabian Peninsula Affairs
West Asia: A New Theater for Great Power Rivalry
Wenran Jiang
Advisor, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy; President of Canada-China Energy and Environment Forum
Kelley Vlahos
Senior Advisor, Quincy Institute; Editorial Director, Responsible Statecraft
Mohsen Milani
Executive Director, Center for Strategic & Diplomatic Studies; Professor of Politics, University of South Florida
Assaf Orion
Senior Research Fellow & Director, Israel-China Research Program, Institute for National Security Studies
Lawrence Wilkerson
Retired United States Army Colonel; Former Chief of Staff to US Secretary of State Colin Powell
Lunch Break
Keynote by Egypt's Ambassador to Canada titled Egypt: A stabilizing role in a turbulent Middle East
Jon Allen
Canada’s former Ambassador to Israel; Advisor, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy
H.E. Ahmed Abu Zeid
Ambassador of Egypt to Canada
Canada’s Defence and Foreign Policy Toward the Middle East
David Carment
Professor, Carleton University; Senior Fellow, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy
Miloud Chennoufi
Chair, Department of Defence Studies, Canadian Forces College
Gordon Venner
Former Associate Deputy Minister, Department of National Defence; Canada’s former Ambassador to Iran
Ferry de Kerckhove
Canada’s former Ambassador to Egypt; Senior Fellow at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Ottawa
Peggy Mason
Former Canadian Ambassador to the UN for Disarmament; President, Rideau Insitute on International Affairs
Ulric Shannon
Canada’s former Ambassador to Iraq; Resident Senior Director, West Bank and Gaza, National Democratic Institute (NDI)
The Abraham Accords: Challenges and Opportunities for the Region
Trita Parsi
Executive Vice President, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
Assaf Orion
Senior Research Fellow & Director, Israel-China Research Program, Institute for National Security Studies
Peter Jones
Executive Director, Ottawa Dialogue; former Senior Analyst, Privy Council of Canada
Aaron David Miller
Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Jon Allen
Canada’s former Ambassador to Israel; Advisor, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy
Networking Reception
Registration & Breakfast
Syria: A Regional and Global Fault Line in Flux
Elizabeth Hagedorn
US State Department Correspondent, Al-Monitor
George Beebe
Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for the National Interest
Joshua Landis
Chair Director, Center of Middle East Studies & Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies, University of Oklahoma
Jerome Drevon
Senior Analyst in Jihad and Modern Conflict, International Crisis Group
Itamar Rabinovich
Former Israeli Ambassador to the United States; former President of Tel Aviv University; Distinguished Fellow at the Brookings Institution
A Conversation with the Ambassador of Iraq to Canada
Younes Zangiabadi
Executive Vice President, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy
H.E. Wadee Al-Batti
Ambassador of Iraq to Canada
Keynote by H.E. Stephan Klement, EU Ambassador to the United Nations in Vienna; EEAS Special Advisor on Iran Nuclear Issue
H.E. Stephan Klement
EU Ambassador - Permanent Representative of the European Union to the United Nations in Vienna - EEAS Special Advisor on Iran Nuclear Issue
Iran Nuclear Deal: The Path Forward
Ali Vaez
Senior Adviser to the President & Project Director for Iran, International Crisis Group
Eric Brewer
Senior Director, Nuclear Threat Initiative; Former Director for Counterproliferation, US National Security Council
Suzanne DiMaggio
Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Nasser Hadian
Professor, University of Tehran; Former Director, Political Development, Center for Strategic Research
Peggy Mason
Former Canadian Ambassador to the UN for Disarmament; President, Rideau Insitute on International Affairs
Lunch Break
A Conversation with the Ambassador of Turkey to Canada
Zachary Paikin
Research Fellow, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy; Researcher, Centre for European Policy Studies
H.E. Kerim Uras
Ambassador of Turkey to Canada
Revisiting Turkey’s Role in West Asia
Galip Dalay
Associate Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House
Max Hoffman
Director of National Security and International Policy at American Progress
Zachary Paikin
Research Fellow, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy; Researcher, Centre for European Policy Studies
Gönül Tol
Director, Turkey Program & Senior Fellow, Frontier Europe Initiative
Chris Kilford
Former Canadian Defense Attaché to Turkey; Fellow, Centre for International and Defence Policy, Queen’s University
Keynote by Swiss Envoy for Middle East and North Africa
Wolfgang Amadeus Brülhart
Swiss Special Envoy for Middle East and North Africa
The Security Implications of Water Scarcity and Climate Change in the Region
Ayat Soliman
Regional Director, Sustainable Development Department Middle East and North Africa Region, World Bank
Mohammed Mahmoud
Senior Fellow & Director, Climate & Water Program, Middle East Institute
Erin Sikorsky
Former Deputy Director, Strategic Futures Group, US National Intelligence Council
Afghanistan and the Taliban's Second Coming
Farid Tookhy
Senior Fellow, Institute for Peace and Diplomacy; Lecturer, University of Ottawa
Max Abrahms
Associate Professor, Northeastern University; Senior Fellow, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy
Nipa Banerjee
Senior Fellow, School of International Development & Global Studies, University of Ottawa
Major-General (Retired) David Fraser
Retired Canadian Forces officer, former Commander of Canadian and NATO forces in Afghanistan
Gordon Venner
Former Associate Deputy Minister, Department of National Defence; Canada’s former Ambassador to Iran
Conference Closing
Younes Zangiabadi
Executive Vice President, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy
the venue
Delta Hotels by Marriott Ottawa City Centre
Audience
Attendees
Over 250 foreign policy and defence professionals, diplomats, lawmakers and bureaucrats, think-tankers and business leaders are expected to attend MESF 2022 in person at Delta Hotel in downtown Ottawa.
Key Metrics
FROM Last Year
0
Speakers
0
Sessions
3500
+
Viewers
0
Countries
About IPD
The Institute for Peace & Diplomacy (IPD) is a non-profit and non-partisan international affairs think tank operating in the United States and Canada dedicated to promoting dialogue, diplomacy, prudent realism, and military restraint—principles which we believe are the four cornerstones of sustainable peace in an increasingly complex and dynamic international system.
Through its publications, conferences, policy briefings, and recommendations, IPD will encourage policymakers, and leaders in government, civil society, and business community to adopt a more restrained and open-minded approach in managing the strategic challenges and geopolitical risks of the 21st century.
To learn more visit: www.peacediplomacy.org