Enduring ties and enduring interests?
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Enduring ties and enduring interests?

Largely as a consequence of military deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, Australia has developed strong defence ties with key GCC countries. But with these deployments coming to an end, the future is in question.

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Key Findings
  • The government should produce a whole of government, Australian Middle East strategy paper comprehensively outlining our interests and a policy framework for advancing those interests
  • More specifically, once Australia’s combat forces are withdrawn from Afghanistan, the government should retain a small military presence in the UAE in order to leverage the close relationships built up over the last decade and to signal our long-term strategic interest in the region

Executive Summary

To read the full Policy Brief, look for the PDF down-arrow at the top of this page.

Areas of expertise: Middle East security issues; Political Islam; Shi’a Islam
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