On Monday, April 1, 2013, CIRS hosted a talk by H. E. Bader Omar Al Dafa from the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Al Dafa is a career diplomat, and served as Qatar’s Ambassador to Egypt, the United States, France, and Russia. He was also the Undersecretary General to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). H. E. Al Dafa is currently Ambassador-at-Large and also the Executive Director of the Global Dry Land Alliance. During his visit, Ambassador Al Dafa shared his experiences as a diplomat and commented on current trends in Qatari diplomacy related to regional developments.