Council of Councils
Eighth Regional Meeting
4-6 October 2015
On October 4-6, 2015, GRF hosted the “Council of Councils (CoC) Eighth Regional Conference” in Istanbul. Founded in 2012 by leading foreign policy institutes around the world including GRF, the Council is a platform aiming to facilitate dialogue for creating international awareness on the twenty-first century’s global governance issues and encouraging multilateral cooperation to tackle these challenges. While the annual conferences are organized each year by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the regional meetings are hosted by other members in rotation.
The conference began on October 4 with a cocktail reception and an opening dinner featuring a panel session on Turkish politics, moderated by GRF member and Global Civics Academy President Hakan Altınay. During the session, GRF Member and Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Yaşar Yakış and journalist and Hurriyet Daily News Editor-in-Chief Murat Yetkin received a variety of questions from the moderator and the audience.
On October 5, the first panel session of the conference addressed the ongoing refugee crisis and humanitarian tragedy that has spread from Syria into Turkey and its neighbors, and on toward Europe. The aim was to assess how international cooperation could be reinforced to respond more effectively and humanely to uncontrolled flows of refugees and migrants. The conference then continued with the proximate and immediate issue of the MENA Region and its impact on global security.
Following a special keynote address by GRF member and Head of the OSCE Special Mission to Ukraine Ambassador (Ret.) Ertuğrul Apakan, the conference continued with a special session on Ukraine. The first day of meetings was concluded with a public session on the Eurozone and Europe’s prospects as an effective global actor, which was followed by a dinner with Former Deputy Prime Minister and Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Economy, Ali Babacan.
Extending the scope from regional to global, the second day of meetings analyzed prospects for redesigning global energy governance and international climate cooperation beyond the upcoming Paris summit.
Please click for the full conference program and the rapporteurs’ report.