Despite talk of a United States disengagement from the Middle East and North Africa, U.S. military engagement has increased over the past decade. While political and military leaders continue to shift their focus to Asia, and more specifically the rising competition with China, the Middle East and North Africa have continued to command the attention of the West. The World Affairs Council of NH will hold a moderated discussion, which is open ot the public, on June 13 with Ambassador Hesham Youssef, senior Fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
The presentation, “Prospects for Peace: Challenges Facing the Middle East and North Africa” as part of the Global Forum Fundraiser," will be held at 6 p.m. at Southern NH University in Manchester. Youssef, the former Egyptian ambassador, will talk about the importance that this region still plays in the world and how regional issues can spread to change realities in the United States. As China and Russia work to increase their influence in the region, long standing conflicts intensify, and more people leave the region in search of a better life, the United States continues to have vital interests to promote.
“After years of intense engagement with the region, many Americans have grown weary of worrying about events in the Middle East and North Africa,” states Tim Horgan, executive director of the World Affairs Council of NH. “However, the countries of this region, and the issues driving conflict today, remain as important as ever. This goes well beyond the price of oil, to include human rights issues, migration, supply chains, and geo-political competition between authoritarians and democracies.”
Youssef has a long career as a diplomat in this area of the world, sitting at the table through some of the most important changes of the past 20 years, from appointments to the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and various posts around the world for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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