CMEC podcast

In 2018, President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action reached between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, including the United Kingdom, back in 2015. Here in the UK, the government’s priority remains to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability, to promote stability and security in the region, secure the re...

“On the Ground” In Lebanon: The voice of youth with Paula Naoufal “I know that I am graduating with no future in this country” Lebanese journalist, Paula Naoufal hosts the first of CMEC’s “On the Ground” series of podcasts, listening to the voice of people actually on the ground in the region. In this episode, she hears the perspective of youth in Lebanon from two Lebanese students: Widad Taleb an...

An interview with Dr. Reem El Mutwalli of The Zay Initiative (www.thezay.org) In the week we celebrate International Women’s Day, CMEC Director, Charlotte Leslie, speaks to the founder of The Zay Initiative, Dr. Reem El Mutwalli, about her work. Dr Reem is the founder of The Zay Initiative. The Zay’s mission is to advance the preservation of Arab cultural heritage through the collection, preservat...

CMEC Director Charlotte Leslie presents the second podcast in a series marking the 10th anniversary of the Arab Spring. In this podcast, Charlotte examines the continuing tragedy of Syria with Simon Collis, UK Ambassador to Damascus in 2010 and Rime Allaf, the Syrian born writer and political analyst.

A decade on from the day Tunisian man Mohamad Bouazizi set himself on fire in despair and protest, instigating a movement that would become known as 'The Arab Spring', CMEC speaks to two British Ambassadors in the region at the time: Christopher O'Connor OBE was Ambassador to Tunisia, and James Watt CVO Ambassador to Egypt. They talk to us about The Arab Spring, what they saw, and what it means fo...

An oil-spill 4x larger than the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989 threatens Yemen's red-sea coast. The FSO SAFER is a 1200 footer tanker, holding more than a million barrels of crude oil - and she is disintegrating. If we do nothing, the humanitarian and environmental costs of the oil-spill, not only to civil-war-stricken Yemen, but the whole region and the world's seas will be immeasurable. Maritime Sec...

In an exclusive CMEC three-part series this week, former UK Defence Minister and Foreign Office Minister and Chair of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee The Rt Hon Tobias Ellwood MP, speaks to the UK’s top defence experts about the imminent Strategic Defence and Security Review, and the UK’s future global role. '3. From East to West: Tobias Ellwood in conversation with Dr Karin von Hipp...

In an exclusive CMEC three-part series this week, former UK Defence Minister and Foreign Office Minister and Chair of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee The Rt Hon Tobias Ellwood MP, speaks to the UK’s top defence experts about the imminent Strategic Defence and Security Review, and the UK’s future global role.   1. The Global Picture: Tobias Ellwood in conversation with Professor Micha...

In an exclusive CMEC three-part series this week, former UK Defence Minister and Foreign Office Minister and Chair of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee The Rt Hon Tobias Ellwood MP, speaks to the UK’s top defence experts about the imminent Strategic Defence and Security Review, and the UK’s future global role. '2. The Middle East: Tobias Ellwood in conversation with Lieutenant General...

On February 24, the island Kingdom of Bahrain recorded its first COVID-19 case when a school bus driver tested positive for the coronavirus. A few weeks prior to that, Bahrain’s Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa had seen an interview on Sky News with Professor John Ashton, a former regional director of public health in England. Shortly after that, Professor Ashton boarded a flight to...

CMEC’s women’s programme has been slowly building, and we are pleased to present the launch of a schedule of podcasts, webinars and articles which will run throughout the course of the year reflecting on the often-overlooked roles that women play in diplomacy, business, sport, arts and culture throughout the Middle East region. Our first podcast sees CMEC Director Charlotte Leslie in conversation...

In this podcast, former UK Middle East minister Alistair Burt concludes his series on the issue of annexation with historian and journalist Ian Black, author of many books on the Middle East, the most recent being the seminal 'Enemies and Neighbours: Arabs and Jews in Palestine and Israel, 1917-2017' which was published in 2017. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers alone.

In this podcast, former UK Middle East minister Alistair Burt discusses with Nickolay Mladenov, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, UN perspectives on the upcoming Israeli annexation of parts of the Occupied Territories. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers alone.

In this podcast, former UK Middle East minister Alistair Burt discusses with HE Mark Regev, Ambassador of the State of Israel to the UK, Israeli perspectives on the upcoming Israeli annexation of parts of the Occupied Territories. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers alone.

In this podcast, former UK Middle East minister Alistair Burt discusses with HE Dr. Husam Zomlot, Head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK, Palestinian perspectives on the upcoming Israeli annexation of parts of the Occupied Territories. The views expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers alone.

On Wednesday 4th March, CMEC hosted a Parliamentary discussion on The UK and the Gulf: security priorities for 2020. We were delighted to have Andrew Bowie MP as chair and to hear from Sir Michael Fallon, Sir Simon Mayall and Ellie Geranmayeh.