Speakers

Hoda A. Al Khzaimi is currently a research assistant professor at New York University Abu Dhabi and the Director of Center of Cyber Security in New York University Abu Dhabi. Alkhzaimi has a specific expertise in Cryptology; cryptanalysis, constructing and validating security hardware and software components, constructing trusted security architectures for different environments in different

Abla Abdel Latif is currently the Chair of the Presidential Advisory Council for Economic Development, and the Executive Director and Director of Research of The Egyptian Center for Economic Studies (ECES). She is also a Member of the Central Bank of Egypt’s Coordinating Council and has been a Board Member of the National Bank of

Dubai Abulhoul is the founder of Fiker Institute. Through the Institute, she has helped shape policy conversations on global governance reform, diplomacy, climate security, culture, and the future of multilateralism, positioning Fiker Institute as a platform for rigorous debate on regional and international issues. Her policy work has been recognized by leading global platforms, including

John Achkar is a Lebanese stand-up comedian from Beirut, Lebanon. He is known for his Arabic-language comedy, which often explores themes related to the Arab diaspora, marriage, cultural identity, and work life. Achkar has toured internationally, performing across Europe, Australia, North America, and the Middle East and North Africa region, including the GCC countries.

Varsen Aghabekian is a Palestinian politician and academic. On 31 March 2024, she was appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates by the Palestinian Authority, becoming the first person of Armenian descent to hold a ministerial position in the government. On 23 June 2025, she was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates

Samir Aita is the president of the Circle of Arab Economists. He served as CEO for Framasoft and set up a consulting company in economics and information technologies. He was advisor to the Chairman of Société Générale in Lebanon. He was Editor in Chief and Managing Director of Le Monde Diplomatique Arabic Editions.  He holds

Yousuf Al Bulushi is the Chairman of the Muscat Policy Council. He is a former senior diplomat, innovator, and entrepreneurial leader. Al Bulushi brings forward more than 20 years of work experience in the combined fields of science diplomacy, innovation, entrepreneurship, science and technology development and education. He has a proven track record in leading

Alaa Al Aswany was born in Cairo in 1957. A dentist by profession, he was one of the founding members of the Egyptian pro-democracy movement Kifaya and actively participated in the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. His debut novel, The Yacoubian Building (Feltrinelli, 2006), caused a sensation for the issues it addressed and has since become the

Yasmeen Al-Eryani is Executive Director for Knowledge Production at the Sana’a Center, where she leads the Center’s research and knowledge production on political transformation and security, transitional justice, economic recovery, the environment, and women’s inclusion. She also curates the Yemen International Forum, the largest Yemeni-led peace conference, and previously served as the Center’s Director of

Hafed Al-Ghwell is a Senior Advisor and Director Emeritus of the North Africa, Mediterranean, and the Sahel Program at the Stimson Center. Prior to joining Stimon, he served as a senior fellow and executive director of the North Africa Initiative at the SAIS Foreign Policy Institute. Hafed also previously worked at the Foreign Policy Institute

Ebtesam Al-Ketbi is the President and Founder of the Emirates Policy Center. Al-Ketbi is a Professor of Political Science at the United Arab Emirates University. In recognition of her role and the great respect she enjoys as part of the distinguished elite in the UAE and the Gulf region, Al-Ketbi was appointed in 2015 as

Riyad al-Maliki has been Foreign Minister of the Palestinian Territories since 2007. He is a former professor and head of the Department of Civil Engineering at Birzeit University. He was also the founder and director of Panorama, the Palestinian Centre for the Propagation of Democracy and Community Development.

Professor Hassan Al‑Momani is a leading scholar in international relations and conflict resolution, currently serving as Dean of the Prince Al‑Hussein Bin Abdullah II School of Political Science & International Studies at the University of Jordan, and as Director of its Center for Strategic Studies. He earned his BA (1983) and MA (1984) in International Relations

Farea Al-Muslimi is a research fellow at Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. His research focuses on Yemen and the wider Gulf region.  Prior to joining Chatham House, he was a non-resident fellow at Carnegie Middle East Center and the Middle East Institute in Washington, also working at the National Democratic Institute (NDI),

Bader Mousa Al-Saif is an intellectual historian of modern and contemporary Middle East and Islamic thought. He focuses on the Arabian Peninsula, namely its public policy, political history, culture, reform dynamics, transnational trends, and gender studies. Al-Saif is the recipient of various awards, co-founder of several NGOs, and has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book

Dr. Afrah Al-Zouba is a prominent Yemeni leader in public administration, institutional governance, and economic development, with over 25 years of experience in complex and fragile environments. She has held senior leadership positions, leading efforts at the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation to prepare the national development plan, coordinate international support and cooperation, develop

Dlawer Ala’Aldeen is the Founding President of the Middle East Research Institute (MERI), based in Erbil, Iraq, and a former Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Kurdistan Regional Government (2009-2012). Ala’Aldeen studied Medicine in Baghdad, then started a clinical academic career in the UK and was Professor of Medicine in Nottingham University. He

Dr Ranj Alaaldin is a foreign policy specialist with more than two decades of experience working across the Middle East, the United States and Europe. His work focuses on international security, Western engagement with the Middle East, Iran, Iraq, the Gulf states, armed non-state actors, post-conflict reconstruction and Track II diplomacy. His work also engages

Roger Albinyana is the Managing Director of the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed). Roger has been working at the IEMed since 2016 as director of the Euro-Mediterranean Policies department until he was appointed Managing Director. He’s also an associate professor at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Barcelona, where he teaches international

Carlo Altomonte is Vice President and Senior Associate Research Fellow at ISPI. He is Associate Professor of Economics of European Integration at Bocconi University and Non-Resident Fellow at Bruegel, a EU think tank. He has been regularly acting as consultant for a number of national and international institutions, including the Italian Government, the United Nations

Dr. Alowaishek currently serves as the Assistant Secretary-General for Foreign Affairs, Political Affairs, and Negotiations at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) since 2009. He served as the Minister Plenipotentiary and Director General of International Economic Relations at the GCC from 1999 to 2009 and has also worked as an economic and legal expert at the

Dr. Alowaishek currently serves as the Assistant Secretary-General for Foreign Affairs, Political Affairs, and Negotiations at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) since 2009. He served as the Minister Plenipotentiary and Director General of International Economic Relations at the GCC from 1999 to 2009 and has also worked as an economic and legal expert at the

Carmiel Mahony is a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs and Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative. Her research focuses on regional security, democratic governance, conflict resolution, congressional foreign policy, and political transformation in the Middle East, with particular interests in civil society, women’s political participation, and the Women, Peace and Security agenda.

Eleonora Ardemagni is an expert on Yemen and the Gulf monarchies, and works also on Arab armed forces and armed groups. She is an ISPI Senior Associate Research Fellow, a Teaching Assistant (“Regional Studies Middle East/“History of Islamic Asia”; “New Conflicts”) at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, and an Adjunct Professor at

Antonio Tajani was appointed Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in October 2022. He graduated in Law from La Sapienza University of Rome and was an officer in the Italian Air Force.  He began his career as a journalist in 1980 and worked as a parliamentary

Nomi Bar-Yaacov is an award-winning international peace negotiator, arbitrator and mediator, and a convenor of back-channel negotiations, principally but not exclusively in the Middle East. She has been the lead commentator on events in the Middle East for the past year for a number of leading media outlets. She advises a number of leading corporations

Nomi Bar-Yaacov is an award-winning international peace negotiator, arbitrator and mediator, and a convenor of back-channel negotiations, principally but not exclusively in the Middle East. She has been the lead commentator on events in the Middle East for the past year for a number of leading media outlets. She advises a number of leading corporations

Sara Bazoobandi is a Research Fellow at the GIGA Institute of Middle East Studies and an Associate Research Fellow at ISPI. She is also a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. Prior to this, she was a senior lecturer in International Political Economy at Regent’s University London and a Visiting Scholar at the Middle

Jan Beagle is the Director-General of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO). She was elected by Member Parties on November 13, 2019 and took up her position formally on January 1, 2020. She was re-elected to a second four-year term in November 2023. Ms. Beagle is a diplomat from New Zealand and a senior international

Dr. Houda Ben Jannet Allal is Director General at the Mediterranean Organization for Energy and Climate since January 2013. Prior to her elevation to General Director, she held several positions, most recent ones being successively Director of Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development and Strategy Director. Her fields of expertise mainly relate to energy prospects, renewable

Dr Alexandre Bish is Head of Research Innovation at the North Africa and Sahel Observatory and an Honorary Research Fellow at University College London. He co-founded MyRA, an ethical AI platform for qualitative data analysis.  He holds a PhD in Security and Crime Science from UCL, where his research examined irregular migration, smuggling, and trafficking

Josip Brkić was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina in April 2015. He was re-appointed for a second term in December 2019 and for a third term in January 2023. He is the Chairman of the B&H Commision for Cooperation with NATO since 2015. Until his appointment to the Council of

Youssef Cherif is the Director of Columbia Global Center Tunis and a political analyst specializing in northern African affairs. He is a Global Academic Associate of RENPET, an Associate Member of the African Studies Centre at Leiden University and the Columbia Institute of African Studies. He serves on the international board of the Columbia Arab

Javier Colomina is the Special Representative of the NATO Secretary General for the Southern Neighbourhood. He entered the diplomatic service in 2001. He was First Secretary of the Mission of Spain to the U.N. (2002-2006) and Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Spain in Damascus, Syria (2006-2008). From 2011 to 2014, Colomina served

Mr. Cordone, started as Deputy Special Envoy on 1 January 2026. He brings 40 years of experience in international relations, international human rights and humanitarian law. He has been serving as Deputy Special Representative for Political Affairs and Electoral Assistance with the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) since 2022, where he also oversaw

Ms. Ugochi Daniels was appointed as IOM’s Deputy Director General for Operations, taking office on September 1, 2021. Prior to joining IOM, Ugochi Daniels was the Chief of Staff at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), covering Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and the West Bank. She was also the United Nations Resident

Federico Donelli is Associate Professor of International Relations in the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Trieste, Italy, and a 2026–2027 Wilson Center Research Fellow in Washington, D.C. His research focuses on the international politics and security of the Middle East and Africa, with particular attention to the foreign policies of

Karim Elgendy, the Executive Director of the Carboun Institute, is an energy and climate policy expert based in London. His research and policy interests include climate policy, the energy transition, energy geopolitics, climate resilience, climate diplomacy, climate security, and urban sustainability, all with a focus on the MENA region.  Elgendy has authored numerous publications and

Born in 1972 in Istanbul, Çağrı Erhan graduated from Ankara University, Faculty of Political Sciences, Department of International Relations in 1993. He completed his master’s degree in international relations at the same university in 1996 with a thesis entitled “The Opium Problem in Turkish-American Relations”. In 2000, with his thesis titled “Ottoman-American Political Relations”, he

Dina Esfandiary is the Middle East Geoeconomics Lead for Bloomberg Economics, based in Geneva. Previously, she worked at the International Crisis Group (ICG), the Harvard Kennedy School, at King’s College London and the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). Dina is the author of “New Order in the Gulf: the Rise of the UAE”, and

Zaid Eyadat is the Director of the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan. He is a member of the Arab Barometer’s steering committee. Eyadat is a political scientist and game theorist. He is also the founding Dean of the Prince al-Hussein School of International Studies at the University of Jordan, where remains

Marc-Antoine Eyl-Mazzega joined Ifri’s Center for Energy & Climate as a Director in September 2017. Prior to joining IFRI, he spent six years at the International Energy Agency (IEA), notably as Russia & Sub-Saharan Africa Programme Manager where he conducted oil and gas market analyses and was responsible for institutional relations with these countries and

Ambassador Ramzy was appointed in April 2026 as Advisor for Political Affairs to the President of Egypt. Ambassador Ramzy’s diplomatic career spans over 50 years in which he served in the United Nations, the League of Arab States and the Egyptian diplomatic service. His main areas of expertise lie in conflict resolution, mediation, international security,

Kristin Fabbe is a full-time professor at the EUI, holding a Chair in Business and Comparative Politics at the Florence School of Transnational Governance. Professor Fabbe is also Director of Florence STG Executive Education. Fabbe formerly served as Jakurski Family Associate Professor in the Business, Government, and International Economy Unit at Harvard Business School. At

Riccardo has more than ten years of professional experience as a political analyst and economist on North Africa, having worked for Eurasia Group, Energy Aspects and other consultancies. He has published articles for the Carnegie Endowment’s Sada Journal, Jadaliyya, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the Financial Times.

Intissar Fakir is a Senior Fellow and Director of MEI’s North Africa and Sahel program. She has written extensively on North Africa’s evolving politics including Islamist electoral politics in post-2011 Morocco and Tunisia, the Western Sahara issue, foreign policy priorities in Morocco and the broader region, and the impact of COVID-19 on regional political stability.

Massad Boulos is a Lebanese-born American businessman and diplomat. He serves as a Senior Advisor to the President of the United States on Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs and concurrently as Senior Advisor for Africa at the U.S. Department of State in President Trump’s second administration.

Christopher Fearne is Malta’s Minister for Foreign and European Affairs. He oversees the country’s foreign relations, EU affairs, and cooperation with international organisations. His responsibilities include commercial diplomacy, international trade, trade promotion, and relations with Maltese communities abroad. Previously, he served as Malta’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health.

Josep Ferré is the Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Foundation, promoting intercultural dialogue across the Euro-Mediterranean region. With a background as Director General of the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) and extensive experience in Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, he plays a key leadership role in fostering civil society engagement and dialogue across the region. 

Paul Richard Gallagher is the current Secretary for Relations with States within the Holy See’s Secretariat of State, a position to which he was appointed in 2014. Prior to that, he had been appointed Papal Nuncio to Australia since 2012. Throughout the years, he has held posts in Tanzania, Uruguay, the Philippines, and the Vatican

Ferdinando Giugliano is the ISPI Director. Before joining ISPI, he was Head of Public Affairs and Policy at UniCredit. Between 2021 and 2022, Ferdinando was spokesperson and speechwriter to Italy’s Prime Minister, Mario Draghi. He spent a decade as a financial journalist and commentator, writing on the European economy for the Financial Times, la Repubblica

Nimrod Goren is Senior Fellow for Israeli Affairs at the Middle East Institute and Co-Founder of Diplomeds. He is also Co-Chair of a regional initiative at President Isaac Herzog’s Israeli Climate Forum. He holds a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and was a Hubert Humphrey Fellow at Syracuse University’s

Piyush Goyal (60) is the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Member of Parliament, North Mumbai Lok Sabha. He has previously served as the Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha and helmed the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution, Textiles, Railways, Finance, Corporate Affairs, Coal, Power, New & Renewable Energy,

Adel Hamaizia is the Managing Director at London-based Highbridge Advisory, a strategic boutique advisory focused on information advantage, risk mitigation, policy development and implementation for companies and governments working in the Middle East, the Balkans, and Africa (MEBA).  Adel is also a research fellow at the Belfer Center’s Middle East Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School. He

As Europe Program Director and Senior Adviser to the President, Fabienne oversees Crisis Group’s work on security challenges and crises on the European continent and in its neighborhood, as well as the transformation of the European Union’s military posture, and the recalibration of the EU’s global role and foreign policy in a changing world. Fabienne

Daud Hirmoge is a humanitarian and development expert with 17 years of experience in teaching, developing, and managing innovative, life-changing programs, particularly for children and youth. Hirmoge has worked in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Yemen, and has also provided remote technical support to Somalia and Rwanda. Currently serving as Head of Programs at Geneva Call

Ferit Hoxha is a career diplomat with over 35 years of experience in the foreign service of the Republic of Albania. Since 6 March 2026, he has been serving as Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Mr. Hoxha has had a distinguished and extensive career in multilateral diplomacy and international relations, representing the Republic of Albania

Dr. Fuad Hussein was appointed as Iraq’s  Minister of Foreign Affairs in June, 2020. Dr. Fuad Hussein is a longtime activist of the Kurdish cause and resistance. During his studies at the University of Baghdad, he joined the Union of Kurdish Students and later the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of General Mustafa Barzani. He completed

Hiba Husseini is the managing Partner at the Law Firm of Husseini and Husseini. Prior to returning to Palestine in 1994, she practiced law in Washington, DC. Ms. Husseini chairs the Legal Committee to Final Status Negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis and she has served as legal advisor to the peace process negotiations since

Giuseppe Inchingolo è entrato nel Gruppo FS nel gennaio 2024 come responsabile della strategia e della comunicazione digitale. Da luglio dello stesso anno ha ricoperto il ruolo di Chief Corporate Affairs and Communication Officer, assumendo successivamente anche la responsabilità della Sostenibilità del Gruppo. Nel corso della sua carriera ha maturato una consolidata esperienza nella comunicazione,

Timothy E. Kaldas is the Deputy Director of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. He is also an adjunct professor of international relations at the Autonomous University of Barcelona where he is pursuing his PhD. His current research interests focus on the political economies of MENA countries, regime competition and survival strategies and Egypt’s

Brian Katulis is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, specializing in US foreign policy and national security. He authors the column “Making Sense: A Regular Take on US Foreign Policy.” Katulis draws on decades of experience living and working in the Middle East, where he has forged relationships of trust and confidence across

Dr Lina Khatib is Director of Global Policy and Systemic Risks at the Security Futures Lab at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford. She is a leading authority on the Middle East and international affairs who has directed some of the world’s most respected policy research programmes. Most recently she was Director of the

Merissa Khurma is currently a non-resident fellow at the Baker Institute at Rice University. She was the program director of the Middle East Program (MEP) at the Wilson Center (2018-2025) where she led programing on four key pillars: the region’s geopolitics and U.S. National Security, economic development in MENA, sociopolitical developments and civil society as

Dr. Christian Koch is the Director of the Gulf Research Center Foundation in Geneva, Switzerland. Previously, he served as Director of International Studies at the Gulf Research Center in Dubai, UAE. Prior to joining the GRC, he worked as Head of the Strategic Studies Section at the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, Abu

Dr Michael Köhler is Ambassador and Co-lead of Grand Bargain, where he oversees the quality funding and catalysing sector-wide transformation focus areas. He is the Deputy Director-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations in the European Commission’s DG ECHO where he coordinates the world-wide EU humanitarian aid activities. From April 2022 to February

Mirette F. Mabrouk is a MEI Senior Fellow and Founding Director of the Institute’s Egypt Studies program. She was previously Deputy Director and Director for Research and Programs at the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council. Formerly a Fellow at the Project for U.S. Relations with the Middle East at

Paolo Magri is President of the Advisory Board of the ISPI (Italian Institute for International Political Studies) and Professor of International Relations at Bocconi University. He is member of the Europe Policy Group of the World Economic Forum (Davos); member of the Board of Directors of LUISS University and member of the Council of ECFR.

Tarek Megerisi is a visiting fellow and former senior policy fellow for the Middle East and North Africa programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations. His work mainly addresses how European policymaking towards the Maghreb and Mediterranean regions can become more strategic, harmonious, and incisive – with a long-term focus on Libya. He is

Alessia Melcangi is Associate Research Fellow at the Middle East and North Africa Centre at ISPI, Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Contemporary History of North Africa and the Middle East at the Department of Social Sciences and Economics, Sapienza University of Rome and Non-Resident Senior Fellow for the North Africa and Middle East Program at

Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mauritania. Before his tenure as minister, he served as a diplomatic advisor to the President of the Republic of Mauritania. Prior to this charge, he worked for international organizations: from 2010 to 2013 he was World President of the International Network of Basin Organizations

Karim Mezran is Director of the North Africa Initiative and Resident Senior Fellow with the Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East programs focusing on the processes of change in North Africa. As a distinguished Libyan-Italian scholar, Mezran brings enormous depth of understanding to the transition in Libya and elsewhere in the region. In addition, Mezran

Chief Economist for the MENA region and Pakistan at Jefferies, Alia Moubayed has over 30 years of experience in public policy, international finance, and think tanks. She has held various positions at the World Bank and Barclays, and led the Geoeconomics Program at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London. In Lebanon, she

Pino Musolino, President of the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority, graduated in 2006 in Law at the University of Bologna and achieved the master’s degree in “International Commercial and Maritime Law” at the University of Wales, Swansea, in 2010. Up to March 2017, he worked as Corporate Insurance Risk Manager for the Middle East area

Murithi Mutiga is Program Director for Africa at International Crisis Group. He is based in Nairobi. He previously covered East Africa for The Guardian (UK) and before that served as a Contributing Op-Ed Writer to the International New York Times. Murithi was also an editor and columnist with the Sunday Nation. He holds an MSc

Fadi Nicholas Nassar is a Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute specializing in US foreign policy, state capacity in fragile states, and the geopolitics of the Levant. His work focuses on how international policy, local politics, and regional power dynamics shape the survival, reform, and recovery of states under crisis.  From 2019 to 2025,

Jonathan Panikoff is senior director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, where he leads the organization’s work on pan-regional Middle East politics and security in addition to directing the South Asia portfolio. He is concurrently a senior fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Geoeconomics Center, focusing on foreign investment and national

Sara Pantuliano is Chief Executive at ODI, where she was previously Managing Director and Director of Humanitarian Programmes. Pantuliano is the Chair of the Seventh Advisory Group of the UN Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund, having served on the Sixth Advisory Group, and a member of UNFPA’s ICPD25 High-Level Commission. She also serves on the High-Level Group

Manal Radwan serves as the Head of the Kingdom’s Negotiation Team at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is a Senior Advisor in the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia. Her portfolio focuses on regional security, Iran, nuclear diplomacy, and the revival of peace efforts in the Middle East. A career

Lucia Ragazzi is a research fellow for the Africa Programme at ISPI. Before joining ISPI, she worked as a project manager at the University of Liège, as an editor and independent researcher at the African Studies Centre Leiden, and as a project officer in the development sector. She has been a Blue Book trainee at

Dr. Rassas is the first woman and the first Arab/Palestinian to serve as President of UNIMED, the Mediterranean Universities Union. With a distinguished career in academia, public service, and international cooperation, she has previously served as Personal Advisor to the former Palestinian Prime Minister and played a leading role in advancing key health and civil

Imran Riza is the current UN Deputy Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon since the 1st of November 2022. Mr. Riza brings over 35 years of international experience across the United Nations System, mainly in field settings, including through his latest assignment as United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator. Mr. Riza holds

Caterina Roggero is a Senior Research Fellow at ISPI’s Middle East and North Africa Centre and teaches Arab Culture, with a focus on the contemporary history of North Africa and the Middle East, at the University of Milan. She holds a Research Master’s degree from Aix-Marseille I University, a Ph.D. in International History from the

Paul Salem is a senior associate (non-resident) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He previously served as president and CEO of the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C., and as founding director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, Lebanon. He also founded and led the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies. Salem’s

Dr. Dahlia Scheindlin is a public opinion researcher and a political advisor who has worked on nine national campaigns in Israel and in 15 other countries. She is currently a policy fellow at The Century Foundation, and she has co-hosted the Election Overdose podcast at Haaretz. She is the author of The Crooked Timber of

Katarzyna Sidło joined the EUISS as a Senior Policy Analyst for the Middle East and North Africa in December 2024. Previously, Katarzyna was Director of the Middle East and North Africa Department at CASE—Center for Social and Economic Research, Poland. During her eleven years at CASE, Katarzyna conducted policy-oriented and academic research, the former commissioned

Secretary General of AVSI – ETS since 2013, he joined the Foundation in 1996 and has held senior positions in project management and executive leadership, working in complex international contexts.  He is a member of the National Council for Development Cooperation (CNCS) of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and of the

Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu (Türkiye) is the eighth OSCE Secretary General, appointed in December 2024. Prior to his appointment, Sinirlioğlu served as the Permanent Representative of Türkiye to the United Nations (UN) from 2016 to 2023. In 2023, he was also appointed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres as the UN Special Co-ordinator for the Independent Assessment

Currently Kabir is Executive Director with the Observer Research Foundation Middle East in Dubai. ORF ME is a sister entity of ORF, India’s largest and most influential think tank. He specialises on the Middle East, terrorism, transnational jihadist groups, non-state militant actors and general foreign policy issues.

Dr Alaa Tartir was an Associate Senior Fellow with SIPRI’s Conflict, Peace and Security research area. Tartir is also a Research Associate at the Geneva Graduate Institute’s Centre on Conflict, Development, and Peacebuilding, a Global Fellow at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, a Policy Advisor to Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network, and a Governing Board

Loredana Teodorescu è la referente per questioni di genere nelle relazioni internazionali dello IAI e la responsabile del Network delle donne mediatrici del Mediterraneo. Esperta di politiche e governance dell’UE, in particolare in ambito di immigrazione e politica estera, di leadership e partecipazione femminile, e dell’agenda donne pace e sicurezza, è inoltre la Presidente dell’antenna

Ms. Tetteh brings to the position decades of experience at the national, regional, and international levels. She recently served as the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa from 2022 to 2024. Prior to this, she was the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the African Union and Head of the United

Dr. Dania Thafer is the Executive Director of Gulf International Forum, an institute based in Washington, D.C. that provides analysis on political, economic, social, and security issues for the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Iran, Iraq and Yemen. She is also a Professorial Lecturer at the School of Foreign Service’s Center for Contemporary Arab

Reem Turkmani is Assistant Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she leads a research group examining how legitimate bottom-up governance and civicness are constructed and contested in authoritarian and conflict contexts, with a particular focus on the Middle East. Trained in theoretical astrophysics, Dr Turkmani brings a systems-based, empirically rigorous

Özgür Ünlühisarcıklı is the managing director of GMF South and Wider Europe and the regional director for Türkiye. Prior to joining GMF, he was the manager of the Resource Development Department of the Educational Volunteers Foundation of Turkey. Previously, Ünlühisarcıklı served as director of the ARI Movement, a Turkish NGO promoting participatory democracy, and as

Ali Vaez is Crisis Group’s Deputy Program Director for the Middle East and North Africa. He regularly advises U.S., European and Middle Eastern officials and was intimately involved in the 2015 nuclear negotiations in his former capacity as Crisis Group’s Iran Project Director. Previously, Ali served as a Senior Political Affairs Officer at the United

Dr Sanam Vakil is the director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House. Her expertise spans Iranian and Gulf politics, regional security dynamics, and US foreign policy, with a particular focus on the evolving strategic landscape of the Middle East and its global connectivity.  At Chatham House, Sanam directs a diverse

Alex Vatanka is a Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute. He specializes in Middle Eastern regional security affairs with a particular focus on Iran. He was formerly a Senior Analyst at Jane’s Information Group in London. Alex is also a Senior Fellow in Middle East Studies at the US Air Force Special Operations School

Antonio Villafranca is Vice President for Research at ISPI and Co-Head of the Europe and Global Governance Centre. He has coordinated several research projects funded by Italian Institutions (such as the “Osservatorio di Politica Internazionale” of the Italian Parliament) and by the EU Commission and Parliament (including Gr:een, Rastanews, Trade and Economic Relations with Asia,

William F. Wechsler is the senior director of the Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council, spearheading its work across the MENA region and with US and transatlantic partners. He is also the senior director of the Project for Middle East Integration where he is shepherding regional integration and normalization efforts

Isabelle Werenfels is a Senior Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. Her areas of expertise are North Africa and the Middle East, with a focus on authoritarian resilience, migration policies and “turn to Africa” of the Maghreb states and Maghreb-EU migration cooperation. From October 2023 to April 2024, she was Member

Dr. Grace Wermenbol is a senior fellow for International Security and Geopolitics at the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. Dr. Wermenbol is a former Middle East specialist at the US Department of State. Prior to that, Dr. Wermenbol was a Middle East director at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), where she

Maha Yahya is director of the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, where her work focuses broadly on political violence and identity politics, pluralism, development and social justice after the Arab uprisings, the challenges of citizenship, and the political and socio-economic implications of the migration/refugee crisis. Prior to joining Carnegie, Yahya led work on

Sarah Yerkes is acting co-director and a senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Her research focuses on democracy and governance, U.S. foreign policy towards the Middle East and North Africa, and political and economic reform in Tunisia. She is the editor of Geopolitics and Governance in North

Mariangela Zappia is the President of ISPI, a position she assumed after more than forty years of diplomatic service at the highest levels. She served as Italy’s Ambassador to the United States of America from 2021 to 2025, becoming the first woman to hold this post, and previously as Italy’s Ambassador to the United Nations

Prof. Sanaa Zebakh is the Director of the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA), a position she assumed in September 2026. She brings over 23 years of experience in Euro-Mediterranean scientific cooperation, with extensive expertise in research, innovation, and international partnerships. Prior to joining PRIMA, she served as Director of Cooperation

George Zeidan is the Carter Center’s Country Representative for Israel-Palestine, where he works to promote dialogue, nonviolence, human rights, democratic participation, and Palestinian political legitimacy. Born and raised between Jerusalem and Beit Jala in the West Bank, his personal background has given him first-hand experience of the political and social realities of the region, including

Valbona Zeneli is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center and at the Transatlantic Security Initiative of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. She is also a visiting scholar for 2023-2024 at the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies at Harvard University. From 2011 to 2023, she served

Mairav joined the International Crisis Group in January 2021 as Senior Analyst on Israel-Palestine. She is responsible for covering Israeli domestic politics, relations with the Palestinians, and regional conflict settings and policies. Mairav is an Israeli-American journalist and commentator who has covered Israeli politics and U.S. foreign policy for over a decade. Her work has