The Visit of PhD Students in the U.S., Coordinated by Rumi Forum, to ORSAM

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Under the coordinatorship of Rumi Forum which was founded in Washington D.C. in 1999 with the mission to foster interfaith and intercultural dialogue and stimulate thinking and exchange of opinions, a group of PhD students from the U.S. paid a visit to ORSAM on May, 16, 2013. The meeting, which was held with President of the Rumi Forum Emre Çelik and also PhD Students from the American University, George Mason University, Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University and the Catholic University of America, was also attended by ORSAM Middle East Specialist Oytun Orhan and ORSAM Water Research Programme Specialist Dr. Tuğba Evrim Maden.        

The PhD students from the U.S., studying on European Union, immigration, Middle East, conflict resolution, were firstly informed about the position of research centers in Turkey, their role in foreign policy making process, and about the activities of ORSAM.

Then the PhD students' questions on the Middle East were answered. The subjects handled during the meeting within the framework of the questions were as follows: Turkish-Russian relations in the context of Syria, Turkey-Israel relations in the recent period, the U.S.-Israel relations from the perspective of Turkey, the influence of the humanitarian crisis caused by the Syria problem on Turkey, Turkey's position and policy on Syria, the odds of military action in Syria, Turkish-Lebanese relations, and the role of water resources in the relations between Turkey-Syria.