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Seminar on geopolitics, security and cooperation in the Arab world and Middle East
On February 14, a conference was held at Casa Árabe’s headquarters in Madrid as part of the Master’s degree program for “Senior Management in International Security” run by the University Center of the Guardia Civil
February 17, 2022
MADRID
The day of events included three conferences: the first, given by Colonel Felipe Sánchez Tapia, an analyst at the Spanish Institute of Strategic Studies, was on “Geopolitics and International Security in the Middle East.” In his presentation, he emphasized the Middle East’s religious and ethnic diversity through a historical review of the main events which have shaped the region. Furthermore, he reached two milestones currently leading to changes: the 2020 Abraham Accords and the new version of Iran’s nuclear agreement with the United States in 2015. In conclusion, he analyzed the position of several countries concerned in the area, including Russia, China, the United States and France.
The second conference, “Stability and the fight against terrorism and organized crime in the Sahel,” given by Major General Francisco Espadas Santana, focused on the European Union’s GAR-SI Sahel project, whose goal is to increase security linked to development in the countries of Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Senegal. This has already shown results in the form of the population’s partial return to places where GAR-SI units are deployed.
Last of all, the third session was titled “Experience as a Mission Chief in Iraq-Eujust Lext,” in which Lieutenant General Francisco Díaz Alcantud analyzed his experience as a mission chief in Iraq as of the year 2005, including work in the court, police and penitentiary arenas. The lieutenant general pointed out that one of the main concerns revolved around security under the threat of different types of weapons and explosives, as well as security and mobility coming in and going out of the country’s international zone, which is also known as the “green zone.”
The event was attended by Master’s degree students from a wide range of countries like Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Portugal and Spain