MEI’s 62nd Annual Conference November 21

“US Middle East Policy: Pathways to Renewal” Middle East Officials and Dignitaries to Address Conference WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Middle EastInstitute holds its 62nd Annual Conference November 20-21, 2008 at theNational Press Club in Washington, DC. Prominent speakers will analyze thethreats and challenges facing US policy toward the Middle East. Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of UnitedArab Emirates and US Senator Chuck Hagel will address the Annual ConferenceWelcome Banquet on Thursday, November 20 at 7 pm. Zalmay Khalilzad, US Permanent Representative to the United Nationswill deliver the keynote address to open the all-day conference on Friday,November 21 at 9 am. The conference also features Aitzaz Ahsan, President of Pakistan’sSupreme Court Bar Association who led last year’s protests against thedismissal of the judiciary. He will look at the challenges facingdemocratic reforms in Pakistan. Nabil Ali Alyousuf, Director General of theExecutive Office of the Ruler of Dubai and Nasser Al Saidi, Chief Economistof Dubai’s International Financial Center Authority will focus on economicdevelopments in the Gulf region. Conference panels will focus on: What constitutes victory inAfghanistan and Pakistan; The future of US-Egyptian relations; Economic andpolitical developments in the Gulf; and restoring America’s credibility inthe region. MEI brings together leading dignitaries, writers and authorsfrom the Middle East, U and Europe who offer fresh voices to the debateover Middle East policies. Panelists include Amer Awadh Al Rawas, Managing Director of OmanMobile; Shuja Nawaz, Strategic analyst and author; Francis Ricciardone,former US Ambassador to Egypt; Ibrahim Helal, Deputy Managing Director ofAl-Jazeera English; Bruce Riedel, of Brookings Institution; David Ignatius,Washington Post columnist; Ron Suskind, Author and journalist; Peter Bergenof New America Foundation; Max Rodenback, The Economist’s Chief Middle EastCorrespondent; Amr Hamzawy of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace;Graeme Bannerman, MEI Adjunct Scholar For more information on panels and speakers: http://www.mideasti.org/conference/2008-annual-conference. Mediaadmission is free. Please email name and affiliation to RSVP@mideasti.org.For more details, contact MEI Communications 202-785-5336 or email:media@mideasti.org.

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