OTTAWA, May 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Institute for Peace & Diplomacy will host the inaugural Middle East Strategy Forum (MESF 2021) this Wednesday and Thursday (May 19-20th). This landmark event brings together over 45 speakers, including diplomats, policymakers, think-tankers, business leaders and journalists from 10 different countries to engage in live discussions about geopolitical issues in West Asia. Nearly 1000 participants are expected to attend the panel, including foreign policy professionals, researchers and diplomats.
Keynote speakers include Gen. David H. Petraeus, Retired US Army General and Former Director of the CIA; Lawrence Wilkerson, Retired United States Army Colonel and former Chief of Staff to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell; the Honorable Chas W. Freeman Jr., and Fmr. U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Canadian panelists include Hon. Sergio Marchi, Canada’s Former Minister of International Trade; Ferry de Kerckhove, Canada’s Former Ambassador to Egypt; Dennis Horak, Canada’s Former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia; Peggy Mason, Canada’s former Ambassador to the UN for Disarmament; and Jon Allen, Canada’s Former Ambassador to Israel.
Bijan Ahmadi, Executive Director, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy: “As an institute dedicated to the cause of peace, our objective with this conference is to bring together experts from different backgrounds and with diverse views to discuss and debate complicated strategic challenges of our time. MESF 2021 is the first international conference in Canada that brings together top thinkers from around the world to discuss current and emerging issues in the Middle East with respect to foreign policy, defence, trade and humanitarianism.”
The conference will be live-streamed on YouTube and Zoom: https://peacediplomacy.org/2021/05/16/mesf2021live/
The Institute for Peace & Diplomacy (IPD) is a Canadian non-profit and non-partisan foreign policy think tank dedicated to promoting sustainable peace through diplomacy, dialogue, and constructive engagement. Visit our website to learn more (https://peacediplomacy.org).