GRC was founded in July 2000 by Saudi businessman Dr. Abdulaziz Sager. Dr. Sager’s vision was to fill an important void by conducting scholarly, high quality research on all aspects of the wider Gulf region including the six member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), as well as Iran, Iraq, and Yemen. GRC operates on an independent, non-profit basis. It is the belief of the GRC that everyone has the right to access knowledge, and in supporting this, the GRC has made all of its research available to the general public through publications, workshops, seminars, and conferences. As a non-profit organization, GRC injects all income back into new programs and activities.