Established in 2008, the Brookings Doha Center (BDC) is an overseas center of the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. As a hub for Brookings scholarship in the region, the BDC advances high- quality, independent research and policy analysis on the Middle East and North Africa. The creation of the center was announced in October 2007 by Brookings President Strobe Talbott. The Center was formally inaugurated by Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani on February 17, 2008.