The Bucerius Governance Talks in Cairo took place shortly after the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip in December 2008. The talks therefore aimed at taking stock of the current situation in the Middle East and tried to define possible solutions in light of the resurgence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The conference largely benefited from the support of the German Embassy in Cairo and of the Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst (DAAD / German Academic Exchange Service) and it was, all in all, an unusually balanced conference for that particular region. The German Embassy was represented by Ambassador Bernd Ebel who also participated in the discussion. The local office of the DAAD hosted the Governance Talks. Among the participants were the Israeli Ambassador, Shalom Cohen, the advisor to the Egypt government as well as representatives of various Arabic think tanks. The discussions and debates reflected the currently very critical political situation in the region. At the same time, however, the Governance Talks were dominated by the hope that the new US administration can contribute to the peace process facilitating a two-state solution. 

Detailed Program