Partnership with Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy Announced

Ronald J. Daniels, J.D., LL.M., President, Johns Hopkins University
Sunil Kumar, PhD, Provost, Johns Hopkins University
Kent Calder, PhD, Interim Dean, Johns Hopkins SAIS
HE Dr. Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Advisor to UAE President
HE Bernardino Leon, AGDA Director General
HE Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh, UAE Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Assistant Minister for Political Affairs
Eliot A. Cohen, PhD, Robert E. Osgood Professor
HE Ambassador Yousef Al-Otaiba, UAE Ambassador to The United States

Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) hosted HE Dr. Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Advisor to the President of the United Arab Emirates, to announce the of launch a new partnership between SAIS and the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy (AGDA). The centerpiece of this partnership is the establishment of the “Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Distinguished Professorship” at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at SAIS. Opening remarks were made by JHU President Ronald Daniels who quoted His Highness President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, “he who does not know his past cannot change his future.” Daniels then remarked that “rigorous academic inquiry is the cornerstone of making a more just world.” He was followed by JHU Provost Sunil Kumar, who hoped for “a long and successful marriage,” between SAIS and AGDA. 

Further remarks were made by HE Lana Nusseibeh, UAE Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Assistant Minister for Political Affairs. She noted how “diplomacy and conflict resolution are important for societies to thrive.” She also remarked on how “the UAE no longer believes in complacency.” She called upon students to focus on “skillsets that bring people together,” and to be “in the middle of the policy mix.” The Ambassador was followed by Eliot A. Cohen, Robert E. Osgood Professor, who recalled his academic interactions with AGDA. He was followed by Bernardino Leon, Director General of AGDA, who virtually presented brief remarks, and called for more joint courses and degrees between SAIS and AGDA. 

Kent Calder, Interim Dean at SAIS, and panel moderator, introduced HE Dr. Anwar Gargash. Gargash started by recalling Zayed’s building of the Emirates, and the importance of the “tradition of the desert: cooperation, inventiveness, ingenuity, and resilience.” He then stated that “amid the surge of hatred, promote tolerance and coexistence.” To which he further noted that the UAE is a global and interconnected country. A panel discussion then took place discussing UAE-U.S. relations and the challenges of climate change. Finally, during the panel, HE Yousef Al-Otaiba, UAE Ambassador to the U.S., reminded students to be “consistent with who you are and what your values are.”