The staff of the Regional Studies Center (RSC) hosted a group of cadets from the United States Military Academy (USMA), also known as West Point, and briefed them on regional developments in the South Caucasus, with a focus on Russia, Iran, Turkey, and the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The West Point cadets were visiting Armenia as part of a study tour of the former Soviet states and were visiting Moldova and Georgia, as well as Armenia. The RSC regularly serves as a host for the West Point study tour and meets with the military participants every year.

Joining a panel of discussants at an event in Toronto, Canada on 10 September via Skype, RSC Director Richard Giragosian presented an assessment of recent developments in Armenia. Other notable speakers included prominent Canadian artist, actress and public figure Arsinee Khandjian, Dr. Daron Acemoglu, well-known MIT economist and co-author of the seminal book “Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty,” Garo Ghazarian and Karnik Kerkonian from the Armenian Bar Association, and others.

RSC Director Richard Giragosian was invited to speak at the Fourth International Conference entitled, “Economy of War and Peace: Impact on Women,” held on 8 September in Yerevan, organized by the Armenian NGO “Democracy Today” and the “Women of South Caucasus for Peace and Prosperity” NGO.

Participating in a two-day conference jointly organized by the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies (GFSIS) and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) in Tbilisi on 28-29 June, RSC Director Richard Giragosian presented an analysis entitled, “The Outlook for the Region in the Next 5-10 Years: Key Challenges, Dangers, and Opportunities.”

RSC Director Richard Giragosian participated in a regional conference in Tbilisi on 9 June entitled, “Energy Security – Old and New Geopolitical Paradigm,” organized by the Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC) and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. In his presentation, Giragosian assessed the broader geopolitics of energy in the Black, Caspian and Mediterranean Sea regions, as well as the Persian Gulf. The conference was also attended by Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and the Minister of Energy, Kakha Kaladze.