The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Center for Science, Technology, and Security Policy (CSTSP) received a grant from the Naval Postgraduate School, a part of the Department of Defense, to identify new opportunities and approaches for future bioengagement in the MENA region based on regional consultations with scientific and health experts. AAAS held regional consultations in Morocco (with North African participants) and Jordan (with Middle East participants) wherein regional and U.S. experts discussed gaps in bioengagement, suggested opportunities for future engagement, and explored metrics of effectiveness and long term impact of bioengagement efforts. To facilitate these discussions, AAAS suppported a collaborative grant that evaluated the impact of regional laboratory biosafety and biosecurity efforts, and commissioned two papers to identify lessons learned from past and current regional efforts and suggest new approaches for future bioengagement. The collaborative grant and commissioned papers were discussed and/or presented in Morocco and Jordan. During the implementation of AAAS's project, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus emerged in Saudi Arabia, Somalia saw its first case of polio since the 1970s, H7N9 influenza emerged in Southeast Asia. Syrian refugees entered Jordan and other neighboring coutries bringing unknown infections, and chemical weapons were used on Syrian citizens. Scientific and health experts from MENA countries expressed concern about these occurrences and identified opportunities for engagement that minimized these and other socio-political concerns. AAAS carried out this project as DTRA explored cooperative bioengagement in MENA countries and as the U.S. Congress wrote and introduced a bill on cooperative threat reduction in the Middle East and North Africa. These policy and programmatic developments officed a unique opportunity to provide regional input in U.S.-MENA cooperative bioengagement.PASCC Grant no. N00244-12-1-0039. PASCC is supported by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).