From ‘Deal of the Century’ to Iran: Valdai Discussion Club to Host Conference on Middle East

More than 50 experts from 20 countries, including Russia, the US and EU members, are expected to take part in the upcoming Valdai Discussion Club gathering which will focus on the situation in the Middle East.

On 17-18 February, the Moscow-based Valdai Discussion Club think tank is due to host a conference on the Middle East which will deal with a whole array of pressing regional issues.

These include the situation in Libya, the US’ “deal of the century” on the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the future of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The conference titled “The Middle East in a time of change: towards new stability architecture” will be attended by more than 50 experts from over 20 countries as well as an array of prominent political figures, among them former Arab League Secretary General Amr Musa, Senior Advisor to Iranian Foreign Minister Mehdi Sanai and Palestinian Social Development Minister Ahmad Majdalani.

The Russian delegation includes Andrey Bystritsky, chairman of the Council of the Valdai Discussion Club’s Development and Support Fund, Vitaly Naumkin of the Institute for Oriental Studies with the Russian Academy of Sciences and Fyodor Lukyanov, chief editor of the Rossiya v Globalnoy Politike (Russia in Global Policy) magazine.

Over the years, more than 1,000 international experts from 63 nations have attended meetings of the Valdai Discussion Club which was established in 2004. The think tank promotes political dialogue in order to strengthen peaceful conflict resolution and provide analysis of economic and social developments globally.