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In line with its focus on economic diplomacy, economic development, and economic justice in the Middle East and Central Asia, the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation (B&BF) launched the Integrated Futures Initiative (IFI) in 2023. This initiative is dedicated to supporting future regional diplomacy through economic integration in the Middle East and is supported by a grant from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
As regional leaders in the Gulf begin to search for a way out of the zero-sum competition that has increased tensions and led to conflicts, this initiative aims to provide a platform for researchers, experts, and policymakers to conceptualise a framework for conflict resolution, economic development, and the promotion of human security through regional economic integration. The primary objective of the initiative is to identify viable pathways for regional economic integration between the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—as well as Iraq and Iran.
The Gulf region faces significant challenges. The lack of clarity on their future economic trajectory has led the region towards more competition rather than cooperation. The push for new economic models to replace the over-reliance on fossil fuel exports is itself exacerbating competition within the GCC. The energy transition will strain public finances. Environmental pressures and public health crises have demonstrated the need to advance beyond traditional modes of economic development and devise more sustainable and resilient pathways to prosperity. Instability in the region has diminished foreign investment and made the region less attractive as a destination for global capital and the technology that comes with it. The Initiative seeks to examine how regional approaches to economic development can help address these challenges. The initiative has brought together policy experts from across fields to discuss ways economic integration can help support better political, security, and environmental outcomes in the region. As part of this objective, the initiative focuses on three interconnected areas of research:
Expanding Connectivity and Boosting Food Security
Tackling Shared Environmental Challenges and Climate Change
Improving Energy Security and Enabling the Energy Transition
IFI also assesses the role of external players in supporting regional economic integration in the Gulf, in addition to a focus on Iraq as an arena for regional economic cooperation. These topics have gained a new salience for the region as policymakers seek constructive relations after several years of heightened tensions.
The Bourse & Bazaar Foundation is the primary convenor of the initiative but is partnering with three institutions to establish an interdisciplinary and international research effort with world-class outputs. The initiative has been designed following consultations in late 2021 and 2022 with a wide range of policymakers and policy experts. These consultations established the feasibility and timeliness of the project and helped identify potential participants for the various outputs of the initiative.
Edited Volume with Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore
The Bourse & Bazaar Foundation has jointly published an edited volume with the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore (MEI) titled Pathways for Regional Environmental Cooperation in the Gulf. The volume, which includes contributions by 12 expert authors, is edited by Mehran Haghirian and Aisha Al-Sarihi. The publication can be downloaded here.
Workshop with Instituto Affari Internazionali
The Bourse & Bazaar Foundation partnered with Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) and co-hosted a workshop in Rome in November 2023 titled “Avenues for Regional Energy Cooperation between the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean.” Policy and academic experts, representatives from the energy sector, and government officials from the Gulf, the European Union, and the United States participated in the two-day workshop. The goal of the workshop was to identify practical areas for energy integration and cooperation, looking at the oil and gas sectors and the renewable energy transition. The participants also discussed the role of external players in supporting regional energy cooperation.
Two-Day Workshop with Gulf Studies Center, Qatar University
The Bourse & Bazaar Foundation has partnered with the Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University to organise a two-day interdisciplinary workshop in Doha that will offer a platform for policy experts, academics, and professionals from the commercial and business sectors to propose new models for policymaking on regional connectivity, supply chains, and transit with the goal of boosting food security and, ultimately, economic integration in the region.
This edited volume is a result of a collaboration between the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation and the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore. It seeks to identify areas for regional environmental cooperation between the GCC, Iraq, and Iran.
Three key outcomes from COP29 present opportunities for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar to drive climate finance in the Global South.
A new agreement to finally connect Iraq to the Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority marks a significant step toward greater energy integration in the region.
