The impact of Covid-19 on the GCC states

CMEC welcomes Sir William Patey, former British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and Elham Fakhro, Senior Gulf Analyst for International Crisis Group to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the GCC states, both domestically and in terms of their foreign policy.

The views expressed in the recording are those of the speakers alone.

Elham Fakhro

Elham is Senior Analyst for Gulf States for International Crisis Group. Elham works on security, conflict, and governance in the Gulf region. She has over a decade of experience working on governance, politics and conflict in the Middle East. Before joining Crisis Group, she acted as a Lecturer at NYU Abu Dhabi, and as Research Analyst with organisations including the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Elham has a Masters in International Human Rights Law from Harvard Law School and a Doctorate in Socio-Legal Studies from St. Anthony’s College, Oxford.

Sir William Patey

Sir William has had a long and distinguished career with the British Diplomatic Service including four Ambassadorial postings, with a focus on the Middle East and Africa. Sir William has been the government and International affairs Advisor at Control Risks since July 2012. He is a Director at WCP Consultants. He advises businesses entering and operating in the Gulf region, in particular the oil and gas sector, financial services and defence industries. He was formerly head of the Middle East Department in the Foreign and Commonwealth office. He has also served as Deputy Head of the United Nations Department. He has served as British Ambassador to Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.