Welcome to Sharaka!

SHARAKA is a consortium of research centres and foundations formed to engage with the state and the future of EU-GCC relations. We believe that there is room and possible ways to enhance understanding and cooperation between these two pivotal regions in the world. SHARAKA is funded by the European Union and it includes five institutional partners in Europe and the GCC. It will run for two years from January 2012.

EU-GCC relations are going through a critical stage and opportunities to advance these relations should be seized in many areas from trade and investments, to energy and maritime security. Another fundamental sector of cooperation between the two regions is media, education and civil society promotion. Demands for more cooperation and better coordination between the EU and the GCC are increasing as new challenges emerge in North Africa and the Middle East as a result of the so-called Arab Spring. To address these issues, SHARAKA adopts an interdisciplinary and multi-method approach, combining policy-oriented research, dissemination/outreach and training activities in a comprehensive and synergetic framework.