The joint virtual meeting between the Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS) and Italy’s Institute for Foreign Policy (IAI) about the regional and international developments was held on Tuesday, April 12, 2022.

The meeting was attended by Mr.Majid Ghafelehbashi, Research Deputy for IPIS; Seyed Mohammadkazem Sajjadpour, Alireza Miryousefi and Mohammad Nikkhah, Senior Studies Experts; on one side,

 and Mr.Ferdinando Nelli Feroci, President of IAI; Riccardo Alcaro and Andrea Dessi, on the other side.

The meeting was held in the form of two panels “Regional Developments, with Focus on Ukraine Crisis and JCPOA Negotiations”, “Focus on Persian Gulf and North Africa Regions”, to answer the following questions: “How the war in Ukraine can impact on EU integration and Europe’s policies toward the Middle East, North Africa and East Europe?, How will the crisis influence relations of Europe with Russia and the US? And what will be the consequences for Nato and its member states? , What are the probable scenarios and approaches toward the JCPOA?,  What are the major challenges impacting peace and stability in the Persian Gulf?, What impacts will the tensions in Libya have on the European policies toward the Persian Gulf , North Africa and East Europe regions? , What are the top priorities of the EU and Italy in the Persian Gulf?

Here are the major topics raised in the meeting:

• The Ukraine crisis is one of the most important developments since WW II which can leave deep consequences in various political, economic and security areas over the world. This crisis has left many regional and international orders and equations faced with serious challenges.
• Following the new US administration coming to power, there have been wide negotiations to return the country to the nuclear agreement and revive it, which presently certain excessive US demands as well as efforts to leverage the pressure of sanctions have bogged down the progressing trend of the negotiations. Europe can play a major role to break the deadlock.
• Developments in the Persian Gulf and West Asia have fundamental dynamics and turns. Although there are conflicts, clashes and crises in the Persian gulf, some positive developments concerning de-escalation of tensions are underway  which must be more backed by all actors.
• The Persian Gulf and North Africa regions have entered a new phase of security and cooperation interactions. Of the outstanding specifics of this new era are increasing distrust in the US backing, constancy of the security puzzle, and finding new partners being on the agenda of regional countries. Meanwhile there is a stronger appetite for intra-regional talks and balancing interests has been put on the agenda of most regional players.