work programme:

Friday, November 5th
Arrival of guests from outside of Jordan

Saturday, November 6th
09.30 - 10.00h Reception and Registration

10.00 - 10.30h Welcome and Opening Remarks

Speech by Mr. Oraib Al Rantawi
Director-General of Al-Quds Center for Political Studies

Speech by Dr. Edmund Ratka
Resident Representative Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) - Jordan Office

10:30 - 1:00h Session 1:
Jordan and the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

Session Topics:
 From Netanyahu to Bennett: What has changed in Israel?
 Is the two-state solution still an option for Israel? Is a meaningful negotiation process still possible? How will the conflict unfold going forward?
 Can Jordan-Israel relations be developed under the Bennett-Lapid government? If so, in which areas?
 What impact will the increasing Israeli violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque (in numbers and in severity) have on Jordan-Israel relations?
 How can the two-state solution be pushed forward with U.S. reluctance, EU wariness, lack of Israeli initiative, and Palestinian divisions?

Host and Session Moderator:
H.E Dr. Mohammad Al Momani
Member of Upper House, Former Minister of Information and Former Government Spokesman

Speakers:
-Dr. Ali Jarbawi
Director of the Ibrahim Abu Lughod Institute of International Studies at Birzeit University

-H.E Dr. Sami Abu Shehadeh
Member of the Knesset for the Joint List

-Dr. Mohanad Mustafa
Director-General of the Mada al-Carmel Center, the Arab Center for Applied Social Research

General Discussion
1.00 - 2.00h Lunch

2.00 - 4.00h Session 2:
Jordan-U.S. Relations: From Trump to Biden

Session Topics:
 Jordan from a U.S. strategic perspective: What has changed? Are there impediments to the development of bilateral relations? What can be done?
 Jordan’s wager on Biden’s “vision” for the two-state solution: Is there any opportunity? If so, what are its limitations?
 How does Washington view Jordan’s new approach towards Syria and the “New Sham” initiative?
 After Afghanistan, how have Washington’s views on Jordan’s role in the war on terror changed?
 The future of Jordan-U.S. Relations amid growing U.S. withdrawal from the region in favor of other, distant priorities?

Host and Session Moderator:
H.E. Dr. Mustafa Hamarneh
Member of Upper House, Executive Director of the Jordan Media Institute

Speakers:
Dr. Curtis R. Ryan
Professor of Political Science at Appalachian State University, North Carolina, United States

Dr. Bessma Momani By ZOOM
Associate Vice-President and Professor of Political Science at the University of Waterloo

Dr.Edmund Ghareeb By ZOOM
Former Professor of International Relations at the George Washington University and Internationally Recognized Expert in US-Arab Relations

Dr. Annelle Sheline
Research Fellow for the Middle East at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
General Discussion
4.00 - 4.30h Coffee Break

4.30 - 6.30h Session 3:
Jordan and the EU: Economic and Political Partnership

Session Topics:
 How do EU states view Jordan’s position and role amid the rapid regional and international changes?
 Jordan-EU cooperation in the war on terror: How can Jordan’s position and role be strengthened? What are the impediments to this? What can be done by the EU and Jordan?
 The UK and Jordan after Brexit and AUKUS: Will there be any developments?
 Is there a need to reactivate the Munich Quartet? Has it lost its role after the Trump administration left office?
 Is there an opportunity to build on joint Jordan-EU positions on the two-state solution and UNRWA to take more initiatives, especially with the U.S. shifting its focus from the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict?

Host and Session Moderator:
Mr. Oraib Al Rantawi
Director-General of Al-Quds Center for Political Studies

Speakers:
Dr. Alan George
Former Senior Visiting Research Fellow, Department of Middle Eastern Studies, King's College, University of London

Dr. Paul M. Esber By ZOOM
Visiting Researcher - El Colegio de México

Dr. Tobias Borck By ZOOM
Research Fellow, Middle East Security Studies – RUSI

Dr. Edmund Ratka
Resident Representative for KAS Jordan Office
General Discussion

Sunday, November 7th

09.30 - 10.00h Reception and Registration

10.00 - 12.00h Session 4:
Jordan, Syria and the “New Sham” Project

Session Topics:
 Why this “new approach”? What has changed? What are the opportunities and obstacles?
 What is Jordan trying to achieve and what interests is it striving to protect?
 How does Damascus view this “approach”? What are its interests and concerns?
 Is Syria willing to respond to this approach? How have different Syrian parties responded to Arab overtures to Damascus?

Host and Session Moderator:
H.E. Dr. Sabri Rbeihat
Former Minister of Culture, Parliamentary Affairs and Political Development and Director of the South-North Center for Dialogue & Development

Speakers:
Dr. Mohamed Ezz Al Arab
Head of the Arab and Regional Studies Unit at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies

Dr. Haider Saeed
Senior Researcher at Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies in Qatar

Dr. Dia Al-Asadi
Academic, Leading Member of the Sadrist Movement

Dr. Samir Al-Aita
President of the Arab Economists Forum, former Editor-in-Chief of Le Monde Diplomatique, The Arab Bulletin

Ammar Waqqaf
Director of Gnosos Research Institute
General Discussion
12.00 - 12.30h Coffee Break

12.30 - 2.30h Session 5:
Jordan-Gulf Relations in a Changing Environment

Session Topics:
 Jordan and the Gulf: Bilateral relations and differing priorities
 Jordan and the Gulf: Opportunities and limitations
 Jordan and Qatar after the Gulf reconciliation

Host and Session Moderator:
Dr. Musa Shteiwi
Professor of Sociology at the University of Jordan, former President of the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan.

Speakers:
Dr. Khaled Batarfi
Professor of Political Science at King Faisal University

Dr. Ali Alhaill
Professor of political science at Qatar University

Dr. Ebtisam Ekitbi
President of Emirates Policy Center.

Dr. Sebastian Sons
Researcher at CARPO – Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient Bonn/Berlin.
General Discussion
2.30 – 3.30h Lunch Break

3.30 - 5.30 Session 6:
Jordan amid Regional Changes

Session Topics:
 Jordan-Iran relations, prospects of the Vienna nuclear talks and Saudi-Iranian talks in Baghdad
 How does Tehran view Jordan’s new approach towards Syria and the emergence of a new tripartite bloc (New Sham)? What are its concerns, challenges, and opportunities?
 How does Russia view Jordan’s new approach towards Syria? How does Moscow understand the attempt to “change the regime’s behavior”? What is the Russian leadership’s vision for the political process and Syria’s future?
 Joran-Turkey relations amid the “rapprochements” and de-escalation between regional axes and Turkish overtures to Cairo, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi?
 Turkey, Jordan’s new approach towards Syria and the “New Sham” project: Is Turkey concerned? How can these concerns be addressed?

Host and Session Moderator:
H.E. Dr. Ibrahim Badran
Former Minister of Education and Advisor to the President of Philadelphia University for International Relations

Speakers:
Dr. Samir Salha
Professor of International Relations and Law,

Dr. Muhammad Marandi By ZOOM
Professor of Political Science at the University of Tehran

Dr. Hesam Dastpish
Academic, Researcher specialising in Iranian affairs

Dr. Elena Suponina
Russian Researcher specialising in the Middle East