On January 26, SIIS and the Stockholm International Peach Research Institute (SIPRI) co-held the Workshop on “Protecting Nationals in Afghanistan and Iraq: Chinese and European Approaches and Experience”. Dr. Ye Qing, Assistant President of SIIS, Director of the Center for West Asian & African Studies chaired the meeting. Officials, scholars, entrepreneurs from China, Sweden, Norway, UK, Germany, Netherland, Switzerland, and the European Union had an in-depth discussion on Afghanistan after the NATO-withdrawal, extremism and its impact on Middle East security, China-Europe cooperation on protecting nationals abroad, and some other issues.