Talk entitled ‘The Future Role of Syria in the Region’. HE Mr. Sami Khiyami, Ambassador of Syria to the Court of St. James, spoke about The Future Role of Syria in the Region. In view of the aftermath of the Iraq invasion and in view of its relationship with Iran and Lebanon, Syria is called upon to play a very important role in the region in the near future. Dr. Khiyami touched upon one or two aspects of this role both in relation to Iraq and Lebanon. Dr. Khiyami is an electronics engineer by profession who received his BE in Electrical Engineering from the American University of Beirut and a PhD in Electronics and Information Technology from the University of Claude Bernard in Lyon, France. He is co-founder and a member of the board of the Syrian Computer Society. He has taught Computer Engineering and Electronic Measurements at the Faculty of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering of Damascus University, and from 1986-1995 was Head of the Electronics Department, Chief Researcher and then Director of Research at the Higher Institute of Applied Science and Technology in Damascus. He has been a consultant to the Syrian government in the field of electronics and IT and played a major role in the introduction of microprocessor design techniques in the electronic industry in Syria.