MEPS Forum at the American University of Kurdistan strives to build a consensus driven regional order by enabling
dialogue and providing a platform for decision-makers to address the Middle East’s most pressing challenges.
MEPS Forum is a leading regional forum for examining and addressing instability and conflict in the Middle East
and North Africa. It provides a venue for diplomatic initiatives, civil-society and non-government organizations
to address the region’s most pressing political, security and socio-economic challenges.
The American University of Kurdistan (AUK) provides a platform for actionable policy recommendations, rigorous
debate and critical thinking, in addition to developing a space for inclusive dialogue between regional and
international stakeholders, pursuant to the goal of securing a durable and lasting settlement to instability and
conflict in the Middle East and North Africa. Each year, MEPS Forum, working with the MEPS Initiative, brings
together an inclusive group of high-level decision makers, scholars, analysts and policy-makers to develop
policy-relevant analysis that can address some of the most pressing challenges facing the region.
The American University of Kurdistan (AUK) has been a critical venue for official and
non-official initiatives, intellectually rigorous debates and policy analysis designed to address a wide range
political, economic and socio-economic challenges in Iraq and the Middle East. MEPS Forum draws on the convening
capabilities, the intellectual resources and spirit of AUK scholars and students.
In 2019, we assembled more than 150 high-profile decision-makers, scholars, experts and thought-leaders from
around the world, including heads of state, ministers, leading personalities of international and
non-governmental organizations, high-ranking representatives of industry, media, academia, and civil society, to
engage in an intensive debate. MEPS Forum hosts workshops on the sidelines of the main forum as part of our
belief in rigorous debate and actionable policy analysis that can illuminate pathways for regional stability
MEPS FORUM 2019
PATHWAYS TO CONSENSUS: IRAQ’S FUTURE IN A TURBULENT REGION Speakers