Speakers

Almotaz Abadi is the UfM Deputy Secretary General in charge of Water, Environment and Blue Economy since September 2022. He was UfM Acting Deputy Secretary General for same division between Sept 2015-Aug 2016. At the UfM, he had led the initiatives to revitalize the water political process in the Mediterranean, including achieving a Ministerial Declaration

Dr. Abla Abdel Latif, originally a Professor of Economics at AUC, 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).  In 2013, she was honored with membership of the Committee of Fifty, whose mission was to

Dubai Abulhoul is an Emirati author, Rhodes Scholar, and founder of Fiker Institute, an interdisciplinary think tank based in Dubai. She has recently published a series of 6 children’s books, aiming to introduce key figures of Emirati folklore to younger generations, and to preserve Emirati folktales, which have only been passed down verbally from one

Alessandro Accorsi joined Crisis Group in September 2022. Prior to joining Crisis Group, Alessandro led the European Union External Action Service’s work on foreign interference and manipulation of information and strategic communications in the Middle East as Head of the Task Force South for five years. In that role, he worked closely with civil society

Djimé Adoum is High Representative, Coalition for the Sahel. Prior to this charge, he was Executive Secretary of the Permanent Interstates Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) and former Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation of Chad. He has 25 years of professional experience in international development, especially in SubSaharan Africa. As an agronomist,

Reem Haddadin is a researcher in the Sustainable Development Pillar. Her research covers topics of hydro diplomacy, green economy, climate change adaptation and mitigation, renewable energy and water, migration and conflict.  Al Haddadin holds a Bachelors in water and environmental engineering from the German Jordanian University and a Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in water

Riad Al-Malki is Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates since 2009, and Chairman of the Board of Directors – The Palestinian International Cooperation Agency PICA, since 2016. He served as Minister of Information and as Official Spokesperson of the Government from 2007 to 2009. He was General Director & the founder of Panorama Center for

Dr. Ebtesam Al-Ketbi is the President and Founder of the Emirates Policy Center. Dr. 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, Dr. Al-Ketbi was appointed

Hayder al-Khoei is the Director of Foreign Relations at the Al Khoei Institute of Najaf . He is also an Associate Fellow in the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House and a fellow at Forward Thinking. His research interests include Middle Eastern history, politics and Islamic studies, and his areas of expertise are Iraq,

Shaikh Nawaf S. Al-Sabah was appointed Deputy Chairman and CEO of KPC in March 2022. Prior to this, he was President and CEO of KPC Holdings (Aruba) AEC, the international downstream subsidiary of KPC, from February 2019. Shaikh Nawaf was CEO of Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC) for almost nine years, from May 2013.

Abdulwahab Al-Shehri is the current Undersecretary General for Corporate Communication at the Muslim World League. He holds an MA in Mass Communication. He represented the Secretary General along with the delegation of the MWL in a number of intellectual, media and artistic events. He is also the Head of the Youth Empowerment Initiative and the

Professor 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 started a clinical academic career in the UK and was Professor of Medicine in Nottingham University. He

Dr. Ranj Alaaldin is currently a Fellow of the Middle East Council on Global Affairs and the Director of the Crisis Response Council. Previously, he was a nonresident fellow in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings. Dr Alaaldin is a foreign policy specialist with over 17 years of experience covering issues of international security, good governance,

Chiara Albanese is the correspondent of the Rome bureau of Bloomberg News. She deals with government and economy issues, and the energy and infrastructure sector. Before returning to Rome with Bloomberg, she wrote from London for the Wall Street Journal, Il Sole 24 Ore, Corriere della Sera, and in English financial journals. 

Paige Alexander joined The Carter Center as chief executive officer in June 2020. Alexander has had a distinguished global development career, with over two decades of experience spanning the government and nonprofit sectors. She has held senior leadership positions at two regional bureaus of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), covering missions and

  Haizam Amirah-Fernández is senior analyst for the Mediterranean and the Arab World at Elcano Royal Institute and professor of International Relations at IE University in Madrid. He specializes in international relations, political Islam, intercultural dialogue and transitions to democracy in the Arab world, where he has lived for over sixteen years. He holds an

Mr. Mohamed Arkab is a State Engineer in Mechanics, Energy Science Option. Throughout his career, Mr ARKAB has led several projects for the construction of energy structures and industrial projects of national importance. In November 2003, he was promoted to Works Director at ETTERKIB, responsible for the implementation of all power plant projects and industrial

Ali Aslan is an internationally renowned TV presenter, talk show host, conference moderator, emcee and journalist. His international career in broadcast journalism spans more than two decades and three continents and includes work for CNN in Washington DC, ABC News in New York, Channel News Asia in Istanbul and Deutsche Welle TV in Berlin. Throughout

Since May 2020, Dr. Canan Atilgan is heading the Middle East and North Africa Department in the European and International Cooperation Division of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS). Prior to this, she was the Director of the KAS Regional Program Political Dialogue South Mediterranean based in Tunis for four years and headed the KAS Regional Program South Caucasus

Shaddad Attili was the Minister affiliated to the Negotiation Department in charge of Water & Environmental files for permanent status negotiations. He obtained a doctorate in Science and Industrial technology at the University of Orléans, France. From 2008 to 2014 he was the Palestinian Minister of Water, during which he championed water law reform, enhanced

Gilles Badot has been the Director of the Adriatic Sea Department of the European Investment Bank since October 2021. He is also currently the Acting Director of the Iberia Department.

Joseph Bahout, PhD, is the director of the Issam Fares Institute and an associate professor of practice in the PSPA Department at AUB. Until recently, Joseph Bahout was a scholar at Carnegie Endowment in Washington DC, professor at Sciences-Po Paris, and consultant to the policy planning unit of the French MoFA. Prior to that, he was

Julien Barnes-Dacey is the Director of the Middle East & North Africa programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). His primary topic of focus is European policy towards Syria, the wider Mashreq, and the Gulf. Barnes-Dacey’s recent publications include “To end a war: Europe’s role in bringing peace to Syria,” “The war next

Lea Baroudi is a founding Member and Director of March, a Lebanese non-profit organization that seeks to engender tolerance, foster diversity, and promote freedom of expression in Lebanon. Her efforts to fight for women’s rights have received praise from the March as one of the most successful organizations for advocacy and policy dialogue in the

Dr Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi is a Senior  Research Fellow at the International Security Studies department of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). She is also a Visiting Fellow at War Studies, King’s College London and a consultant at a NATO-sponsored expert panel on Afghanistan. Her research is concerned with security in the Middle East, with

Dr. Sara Bazoobandi is a Marie Curie Fellow at the GIGA Institute of Middle East Studies and Associate Research fellow, ISPI. She is also a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. Prior to this, she was a senior lecturer in international political economy at Regent’s

Mohamed Bazoum, is a Nigerien politician who is the current president of the Republic of Niger. He has been in office since 2 April 2021. Before becoming a President, he served as the President of the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS-Tarayya). He also served in as a Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995

Abdoul Salam Bello is a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center. He currently serves as Alternate Executive Director of the Africa Group II at the World Bank Group Board of Directors where he represents 23 African countries. He brings extensive experience in economic development, multilateral trade cooperation and diplomacy.  Mr. Bello most

Dr Emna Ben Arab is currently teaching as an assistant professor at the University of Stax, Tunisia Her lectures focus mainly on American foreign policy, history of political ideas, political discourse analysis, and historiography. She holds a Ph.D in Culture Studies, obtained at the University of La Manouba, the University of California, Riverside and Reading

Dr Leila Benali is the Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development of Morocco.  In 2021, she was appointed Chief Economist of the International Energy Forum (IEF), and in 2019 member of the Special Commission on the Development Model (SCDM).  Since September 2018, she has also been a member of the Fossil Energy Expert Group at

Éléonore A. Bénit is a Communication consultant and freelance journalist. She began her career in advertising before joining L’Officiel Maroc, where she became deputy editor in 2013. A year later, in collaboration with the TelQuel Media Group, she founded Icônes Magazine, the women’s lifestyle supplement to the leading economic and political weekly magazine in Morocco,

Rim Berahab is Senior Economist at the Policy Center for the New South, which she joined in 2014. She is currently working on themes related to energy issues and their impacts on economic growth and long-term development. Her research areas also cover trade and regional integration challenges in Africa. Previously, she has also worked on

Dr. Cinzia Bianco is a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, based in Berlin, where she is working on political, security and economic developments in the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf region and relations with Europe. Additionally, she is a senior analyst at Gulf State Analytics. Previously, Bianco was a research fellow for

H.E. Dr. Mohamed bin Mubarak Bin Daina is the current Minister of Oil of Bahrain. Previously, he was Bahrain’s special envoy for climate affairs and chief executive of the Supreme Council for Environment, and the deputy chief executive of the Supreme Council for Environment. A double honoree by Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, Bin

Prince El Hassan bin Talal was born on March 20, 1947 in Amman, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. He is the son of the late King Talal and Queen Zein al-Sharaf, brother of the late King Hussein and uncle to the present King Abdullah II of Jordan. Prince Hassan received his preliminary education in Amman,

Abdallah Bou Habib is the current Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants of Lebanon. He began his career at the World Bank in May 1976 as an Economist and then a Senior Loan Officer in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.  From May 1983 to February 1990, Dr. BouHabib served as Lebanon’s Ambassador

Nadia Bouaida is the Chairperson for Foreign Affairs, National Defense, Islamic Affairs, and Moroccan Expatriates Committee,  in House of Representatives of Morocco.

Ouided Bouchamaoui is the co-laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize 2015. From May 2011 to January 2018, Ms. Bouchamaoui was president of UTICA, the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts, the first woman elected to this position. As member of the National Dialogue Quartet, she played a historic and legendary role in helping her

Zuzana Brixiova Schwidrowski is Director of the North Africa Office at the UNECA. Her research interests are entrepreneurship, labor economics, family economics and development. She has published in journals such as Development Policy Review, Economics Letters, Economic Modelling, Economic Systems, Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Macroeconomic Dynamics, Review of Development Economics, Small Business Economics,

Andrea Cabrini is the Managing Editor of Class CNBC, the Italian branch of CNBC. He’s also Co-Managing Editor of Milano Finanza, Italy’s premier financial magazine, coordinating digital and print platforms. Cabrini is a financial journalist and anchor with three decades of experience covering the economy, global markets, and the banking and asset management industry. He

Minister Clint Camilleri, an architect by profession, was first appointed Minister for Gozo in 2020 and reconfirmed in his position after the March 2022 General Election. Clint Camilleri studied at the Universities of Malta and Kentucky, United States and successfully graduated as Architect and Civil Engineer.   Hailing from a family well involved in politics, following in

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey since 24 November 2015. He previously served in the same position from August 2014 to August 2015. He is a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, where he represents Antalya Province. First elected to Parliament in the 2002 general election, he is

Natalina Cea has been appointed Head of Mission of the EU Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) in Libya. She is an Italian civil servant who has worked at a senior level for more than 20 years, both in Italy – as Director of the International Cooperation and Technical Assistance Office of the Italian Customs Administration –

Ayşe Betül Çelik received her Ph.D. in political science from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 2002 and is a full Professor at Sabanci University in Istanbul, Turkey. She teaches political science and conflict resolution. She is an expert on ethnic conflict, reconciliation, dialogue, forced migration, peace processes and gender and peacebuilding. 

Riccardo Chartroux is an Italian journalist. He joined Rai through a competition for practicing journalists in 1992. He began his work in Rai in 1995 on Tg3 and the director of the time Lucia Annunziata took him to the newsroom also carrying out the post of correspondent, then he moved on to the foreign editorial

Edmondo Cirielli is the Italian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.  He is a Brigadier General of the Carabinieri Auxiliary Corps, and was elected elected Member of the Chamber of Deputies for the first time 2001. In 2009, he was elected President of the Province of Salerno for the Centre-Right Coalition.  He holds

Emmanuel Cohen-Hadria joined the European Institute of the Mediterranean in Barcelona in September 2015, where he is the Director of the Department of Euro-Mediterranean Policies and Team Leader of “EuroMeSCo: Connecting the Dots”, a project involving think tanks around the Mediterranean region and contributing to policy-oriented research on issues related to Euro-Mediterranean relations. He is

Dr. Paolo Conversi graduated in Economics and Commerce from ‘La Sapienza’ University of Rome and in social sciences from the Pontifical Gregorian University. He then obtained a Ph.D. in social sciences from the Pontifical Gregorian University and a Ph.D. in economics from ‘Roma Tre’ University. After taking part in development projects in Mexico, Colombia and Bosnia

Stefania Craxi is currently the President of Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the Italian Senate. She entered politics in 2006, when she was elected MP with Forza Italia. She was re-elected MP in 2008, among the ranks of The People of Freedom. She also served as Undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2011.

Maria Cuffaro is currently correspondent and presenter of the Tg3 Rai. In 1986 she was a journalist for Italia Radio, and in the meantime also collaborated with Sette, Il Venerdì, Annabella, Avvenimenti, Die Tageszeitung, Nordreihnishcer Rundfunk, Nuova Ecologia. In 1989 she had her first contract with Rai, at Radio 3 for Il filo d’Arianna (inquiries

Fadi Daou is the Executive Director of Globe Ethics Foundation, Geneva. He is the Co-founder and former CEO of Adyan Foundation in Beirut, Lebanon. He is also professor of interreligious dialogue and the geopolitics of religion at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (Lebanon). His previous roles include serving as director of the High Institute

Rachele De Angelis is a Development Specialist at Enel Group. She graduated from Sciences Po Paris and is passionate about susteinability, international relations, and management. She was selected as one of the 2022 Next Generation Women Leaders by McKinsey.

Dr. De Blasio is a Senior Fellow leading Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center research on energy technology innovation and the transition to a low carbon economy and serves as a board member and adviser to companies, startups and non-profit organizations. With more than 25 years of global experience in the energy sector, Nicola De Blasio

Admiral De Carolis is specialized in Telecommunications, Conduct of Operations and Electronic Warfare. Prior to his current role, he was then Assistant to the Chief of Naval Staff (2008-10), Military Assistant and Aide-de-Camp to the President of the Republic (2011-13), Office Chief and Communications Assistant to the Chief of Defense Staff (2013- 16), Chief of

Staffan de Mistura was appointed UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Western Sahara in October 2021. Previously, he has been UN Special Envoy for Syria from 2014 to 2018 . In 2010, he was appointed Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan; in 2009, Deputy Executive Director for External Relations of

Emanuela Del Re has been appointed EU Special Representative for the Sahel in 2021. Since 2018, she served as Italy’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Sociologist and expert in international politics, she is a specialist in migration and refugees, conflicts, religious issues, minorities. Del Re is a researcher and professor of Sociology

Alain Délétroz is Geneva Call’s General Director since January 2018. He has an experience of more than twenty years of work in conflict areas or in countries under strong political tensions. His areas of expertise include EU external action, Russia, North/South Caucasus and Central Asia; Brazil and the Andean countries; West Africa; conflict assessment and

Mohsen Derregia was appointed chairman of the board overseeing the $65bn LIA in April. Prior to taking up his current position, he taught accounting and finance at the UK’s University of Nottingham. The LIA’s management is conducting a detailed study of its assets abroad, many of which were frozen by the West during Libya’s civil

Claudio Descalzi has been CEO of Eni since May 2014. He is Member of the General Council and of the Advisory Board of Confindustria and Director of Fondazione Teatro alla Scala. He was Head of reservoir and operating activities for Italy, Managing Director of Eni subsidiary in Congo, and Vice Chairman & Managing Director of

Noemi Di Segni is the president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI). Di Segni was born in Jerusalem but has been living in Rome for a long time. She was appointed by the new Council formed by the representatives elected in the communities of Rome, Milan, Florence, Livorno and Trieste on June 19 2016,

Gilberto Dialuce is the President of ENEA, the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development.  An energy expert, Dialuce has over 40 years of institutional experience in the field of hydrocarbons, security of supply, market liberalization, but also new technologies, energy efficiency, renewable sources, nuclear fusion and research into the electricity system. 

Dr. Ishac Diwan is the Director of Research for the Finance for Development Lab at Paris School of Economics, where he also teaches economics. Until recently he held the Chair Socio-Economy of the Arab World at Paris Sciences et Lettres | PSL (a consortium of Parisian universities).  Diwan received his PhD in economics from the University of California

Leo Docherty was appointed as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) on 27 October 2022.  He was previously Minister of State for Europe at the FCDO from 7 September 2022 to 27 October 2022. Mr. Docherty was Minister for Defence People from July to September 2022. He was

Dr. Karim El Aynaoui is an Economist. From 2005 to 2012, he worked at the Central Bank of Morocco where he held the position of Director of Economics, Statistics and International Relations. He was in charge of the Research Department and equally a member of the Governor’s Cabinet. Previously, he worked for eight years at

Mohamed Ould Ghazouani is the President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.  In 2008, Ghazouani served as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Mauritania, and in 2012 was named interim Head of State. He left these positions in 2018. The following year, in 2019, Ghazouani became the Defense Minister of Mauritania. As Defense Minister, he

Mr. Anas El Gomati is the founder and current Director General of the Tripoli-based Sadeq Institute, the first public policy think tank in Libya’s history established in August 2011. The Sadeq Institute conducts qualitative and quantitative field research across east, west and south Libya. He has held several positions in the region and Europe, as

Najla El Mangoush is the Libya’s first female Minister of Foreign Affairs. She trained as a lawyer at Benghazi university and was later an assistant professor of law there. During Libya’s 2011 revolution, she headed the National Transitional Council’s (NTC) Public Engagement Unit which dealt with civil society organisations. Subsequently she was a Fulbright Scholar

Karim Elgendy is an urban sustainability and climate consultant based in London with more than two decades of experience. His areas of expertise include developing sustainable and resilient cities and neighbourhoods, climate policy analysis, and energy transition. His current work focuses on the Middle East and North Africa region, especially around the Eastern Mediterranean and

Zaid Eyadat is the Director of 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 a full

Kristin Fabbe is a Jakurski Family associate professor in the Business, Government, and International Economy Unit. Her primary expertise is in comparative politics, with a regional focus on the greater Mediterranean region. Her first book, Disciples of the State: Religion and State-Building in the Former Ottoman World (Cambridge University Press, 2019) examines the role of

Tanja Fajon holds a university degree in journalism and has completed postgraduate studies in international politics (Paris/Brussels) and management (IECD Bled). She worked as a journalist at Radio Glas Ljubljana and at the Republika newspaper, and from 1995 at RTV Slovenia. For eight years, she was a correspondent for RTV Slovenia in Brussels, where she

Intissar Fakir is a senior fellow and director of MEI’s North Africa and Sahel program. She is an expert on North Africa, the Sahel, and key regional thematic issues including governance, social change, migration, and security. She has written extensively on North Africa’s evolving politics including Islamist electoral politics in post-2011 Morocco and Tunisia, the

Maria Fantappiè is Special Adviser for the Middle East and North Africa region at HD. Before joining the organisation, she served as Senior Adviser for the International Crisis Group, engaging with policymakers on Iraq, Syria and the Kurdish issue at some of the highest levels of government in the US, Europe and the Middle East. In

Fadia Faqir is a Jordanian British author based in Durham and Amman. She currently holds a writing fellowship at St Aidan’s College, the University of Durham, where she teaches creative writing. Her novels have been published in nineteen countries and translated into fifteen languages.  Faqir often writes on issues of gender, Islam and democracy. Her

Dr. Farajalla is currently director of the Climate Change and the Environment Program at the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut. He obtained an MS in irrigation engineering in 1989 from Utah State University and an MS and a PhD in environmental engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 1995. He worked

Daniela Fatarella is currently the General Manager of Save the Children Italy, where she was previously Head of Marketing Communications. Previously, she worked as Marketing and Fundraising Director at Greenpeace Italy and as National Director of CBM-Christian Blind Mission. She is an expert in social communication, fundraising techniques and Direct E-Mail Marketing in the social

Marco Felisati is Italy’s B20 Sherpa and Manager of the B20 Task Force on Trade and Investment. He has dealt with international relations, trade, and trade-related matters for over 25 years. He is Deputy Director for Internationalization and Trade Policy at the Confederation of Italian Industry – Confindustria. B7 and B20 Sherpa to the Global

Ms. Fellin is a WPS expert and peacebuilder who has worked as a Senior Gender Adviser with Women in International Security (WIIS), the International Affairs Institute (IAI) in Rome, NATO HQ in Brussels, as well as international consultant for UN agencies and other national institutions for more than 15 years. She was instrumental in establishing

Dr. Senen Florensa is currently the President of IEMed (European Institute of the Mediterranean). A diplomat and ambassador, he holds a degree in Economic Science (1971) and in Law (1972) from the Universitat de Barcelona. He studied for his doctorate in Economics at the Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne (1973-1974); as a Fullbright scholarship holder at

Mauro Garofalo is in charge of international relations in the Community of Sant’Egidio. He took part, as a mediator, in the most recent peace initiatives of the Community of Sant’Egidio. He worked in particular for national reconciliation in the Central African Republic, Guinea Conakry, Libya and Niger. 

Dr. Roberta Gatti is the Chief Economist of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region of the World Bank. She joined the World Bank in 1998 as a Young Professional in the Macro unit of the Development Research Group. She has since led analytical agendas on growth, firm productivity, gender, social inclusion and labor

Claudia Gazzini is the International Crisis Group’s Senior Analyst for Libya. She has covered this role since 2012. Between October 2017 and March 2018 she also served as policy advisor to Ghassan Salamé, Special Representative and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). She researches and produces reports on security, politics and economic

Paolo Gentiloni is an Italian politician serving as European Commissioner for the Economy in the von der Leyen Commission since 2019, following his time as the 57th Prime Minister of Italy from 2016 to 2018. Prior to that he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2014 to 2016, and as Minister of Communication from 2006 to 2008, and as

Ellie Geranmayeh is Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). She specializes in European foreign policy in relation to Iran, particularly on the nuclear and regional dossiers and sanctions policy. Geranmayeh advised European governments and companies on the nuclear negotiations between Iran and world

In August 2022, Dr. Nazila Ghanea was appointed as Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief for the UN. She is also a professor in International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford, and has served as Associate Director of the Oxford Human Rights Hub and as a member of the OSCE Panel

Dalia Ghanem is a Senior Analyst in charge of the Middle East and North Africa portfolio at the EUISS. Her research interests focus on EU-MENA relations. Before joining the EUISS, Dr. Ghanem was a senior resident scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, where her research focused on Algeria’s political, economic, social and

Lucia Goracci is a foreign correspondent for Rai News 24. She graduated in political science from LUISS in Rome and joined Rai in 1995. Her first destination was for Rai’s regional tv news broadcast in SIcily, then Rai News 24 and then TG3. She travelled to Africa, Europe, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel and the Palestinian

Dr. Nimrod Goren is the President and Founder of Mitvim, and the Co-Founder of Diplomeds – The Council for Mediterranean Diplomacy. He teaches Middle Eastern Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and is a Faculty Affiliate at Syracuse University’s Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration (PARCC). He holds a Ph.D.

Giovanni Gorno Tempini has been the President of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA since 24 October 2019. She is also Chairman of CDP Reti SpA, CDP Equity SpA and CDP Foundation since 11 November 2021.  He chairs the BoD of F.I.L.A. – Fabbrica Italiana Lapis ed Affini – and sits on the Board of Directors of

Lise Grande is the CEO of the U.S. Institute of Peace, an independent, nonpartisan, federally funded institute charged with the mission to prevent, mitigate, and resolve violent conflict around the world. She has 25 years of continuous overseas experience leading, managing, and coordinating complex operations for the United Nations. Grande has held leadership positions in

General Claudio Graziano graduated in Military Strategic Sciences from the Turin School of Application. He also holds degrees in Diplomatic and International Sciences from the University of Trieste, a Master’s degree in Strategic Sciences and a university specialisation in Human Sciences from the Augustinian Academy in Rome. In January 2010, he was promoted to the rank

Gordan Grlić-Radman was appointed as Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in the Government of Croatia in 2019. Grlić-Radman started his career in business, working in Switzerland for Melior-Haefliger AG from 1984 to 1991. From 1991 to 1992, Grlić-Radman worked as Business Secretary of the Faculty of Medicine in Zagreb, where he also volunteered for

Samantha Gross is the director of the Energy Security and Climate Initiative and a fellow in Foreign Policy. Her work is focused on the intersection of energy, environment, and policy, including climate policy and international cooperation, the transition to net-zero emissions energy system, energy geopolitics, and global energy markets.  Gross has more than 25 years

Rafael Mariano Grossi was appointed as IAEA’s Director General in 2019. Mr Grossi is a diplomat with over 35 years of experience in the field of non-proliferation and disarmament. In 2013, he was appointed Ambassador of Argentina to Austria and Argentinian Representative to the IAEA and other Vienna-based International Organizations. In 2019, Mr Grossi acted

Michael Haddad is serving as a Regional (Arab States) Goodwill Ambassador for the (UNDP). He raises awareness about climate change throughout the region also by taking on physical challenges, such as a 60,000-step “Cedar Walk” in Bsharre to mobilize action for reforestation of Lebanon’s cedar woods (2013), the climbing of Beirut’s  Raouche Rock to highlight

Fatou Haidara, Managing Director of the Directorate of Global Partnerships and External Relations and Director General’s Special Representative for Africa at United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), has had an extensive career as a strategic partnerships and policy envoy. Prior to joining UNIDO, she served the Government of Mali for eight years in several ministerial

Marco Hannappel graduated in business administration from the University of Florence, began his career at Procter & Gamble, where he held various positions of responsibility until the appointment of Market Strategy and Planning Leader of the Health & Beauty Care at the Italian level and subsequently of the Oral Care division for Western Europe, at

Kawa Hassan is the Executive Director of Stimson Europe, Senior Fellow, and Director of the MENA Program at the Stimson Center. Prior to joining Stimson, Hassan was Vice President and MENA Program Director for the Brussels Center at EastWest Institute (EWI). Kawa Hassan also worked with Iraqi stakeholders, neighboring countries and the European Union, to

Dr Hisham A. Hellyer, a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, is a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Cambridge University. Elected as Fellow of Royal Society of Arts in London due to his expertise in politics, international relations, security studies, and faith, in the West and the Arab world,

Dr. Steffen Hertog is Associate Professor in Comparative Politics in the Department of Government at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He joined the Government Department in 2010 as a lecturer. He was previously Kuwait Professor at Sciences Po Paris, lecturer in political economy at the University of Durham and post-doctoral research fellow

Zaina Hurani is a Palestinian Physics student pursuing her Bachelor’s degree at An-Najah National University. She is an accomplished Debater breaking in multiple international tournaments, President of the Student Association for Physics and Astronomy, and a social activist. Her professional project is to combine the hard and soft sciences to achieve a holistic socio-politico–economical vision of Palestine to

Dr. Dalal Iriqat is an assistant professor at the Arab American University Palestine AAUP and a weekly columnist at AlQuds Newspaper since 2016. She was identified as a Young Global Leader-World Economic Forum YGL 2021. Her research focus is on Diplomacy, Nation Branding, Palestinian State Building, Coercive Diplomacy, Public Diplomacy, Soft Power, Mediation and Conflict

Marc Owen Jones is an Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies at Hamad bin Khalifa University, where he lectures and researches on political repression and informational control strategies.  His recent work has focused on the way social media has been used to spread disinformation and fake news in the Middle East. In March 2019, he

Dr. Kerri-Ann Jones, an American national, took up her duties as Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD on 1 July 2022. Her portfolio includes Environment, Development, Science and Innovation, Statistics & Data and Public Governance. Prior to joining the OECD she served in senior leadership positions working to advance the role of science in programs and

A career diplomat for the Egyptian government, Nasser Kamel held the position of Ambassador of Egypt to the United Kingdom from 2014 to 2018. He was also Ambassador to France in the period 2006-2012, during which he took part in the drafting of the Joint Declaration of the 2008 Paris Summit that marked the launch

Matthew Karnitschnig is POLITICO’s chief Europe correspondent, based in Berlin. He joined the publication in 2015 from the Wall Street Journal, where he spent 15 years in a variety of positions as a reporter and editor in the U.S. and Europe.  In a career spanning two decades, Karnitschnig has been on the front lines of some

Tamara Kharroub is the Deputy Executive Director and a Senior Fellow at Arab Center Washington DC. Her research work focuses on democracy and human rights in the Arab world. She publishes research and policy analysis papers and editorials exploring issues of democratization and transitions, US foreign policy in the Middle East, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, identity

Lina Khatib is Head of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House. She was formerly director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut and co-founding Head of the Program on Arab Reform and Democracy at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. Her research focuses on the

Sven Koopmans is a peace negotiation specialist, senior diplomat, national politician, and international lawyer. On May 2021 he has been appointed EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process until 2023. From 2017 to 2021 Mr Koopmans was a Member of Parliament in The Netherlands for the governing VVD party, first as spokesman on

Mr. Francesco La Camera is the Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). He has more than thirty years of experience in the fields of climate, sustainability, and international cooperation. He formerly served as Director-General of Sustainable Development, Environmental Damage, EU and International Affairs at the Italian Ministry of Environment, Land & Sea. He

Mr. Lamamra is currently the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Algeria, a position he covered also in March 2019 and between 2013 and 2017, when played a prominent role in regional mediation efforts, including leading them in Mali. Previously, Mr. Lamamra was elected and served as the African Union’s Commissioner for Peace and Security from

Hélène Le Gal has been the Managing Director for the Middle East and North Africa (EEAS) since October 2022. Previously, she was the French Ambassador to Morocco and to Israel. Prior to that, she has been also adviser to the representation of France to the European Union and consul general of France in Quebec (2009-2012). From

Yael Lempert is the Acting Assistant Secretary of the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. She is a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, and served as Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in London from January through July 2021, and as Deputy Chief of Mission for the two

Ian Lesser is vice president at The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) and a member of GMF’s executive team, managing programs across the organization. He also serves as executive director of the Brussels office of GMF, and leads GMF’s work on the Mediterranean, Turkey, and the wider Atlantic. Prior to joining GMF,

Gideon Levy is a Haaretz columnist and a member of the newspaper’s editorial board.  Levy joined Haaretz in 1982, and spent four years as the newspaper’s deputy editor. He is the author of the weekly Twilight Zone feature, which covers the Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza over the last 25 years, as

Marwa Louati is an international development professional and a civil society activist with nine years of experience in democratic governance, youth development, public policy, and peace-building. She worked with various organisations, including the National Democratic Institute, The United States Institute of Peace, Democracy Reporting International and the Council of Europe. Throughout her experience, she operated

Monica Maggioni is an Italian journalist, public executive and television host. She is currently the Director of TG 1, RAI. Enrolled in the Italian Order of Journalists since February 27, 1995, she worked for many years on Tg1. From 10 January 2013 she directed Rainews24 and Televideo until 14 June 2013 and then continued to

Paolo Magri is the Executive Vice President of the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) and Professor of International Relations at Bocconi University. He is a member of the Strategic Committee of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, of the Europe Policy Group of the World Economic Forum (Davos) and of

Robert Malley was appointed Special Envoy for Iran on January 28, 2021.  Prior to that, he served as President and CEO of the International Crisis Group.  Under the President Barack Obama, he served as Special Assistant to the President, Senior Advisor to the President for the Counter-ISIL campaign, and White House Coordinator for the Middle

Dr. Tarek Masoud is the Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Governance at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He is the co-Editor of the Journal of Democracy of the National Endowment for Democracy, and serves as the Faculty Director of the Kennedy School’s Middle East Initiative and the Initiative on Democracy in Hard Places. His research focuses on political development

Mr. Giampiero Massolo was appointed President of ISPI in January 2017. He has also been Chairman of Fincantieri Spa since May 2016. He was appointed Deputy Diplomatic Advisor to the Prime Minister in October 1993. In 1994, he was designated Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister. In June 1996 he served as Head of

Grammenos Mastrojeni is an Italian diplomat, professor and writer who has focused for the past 25 years on the societal, geo-strategic and economic impacts of environmental degradation, as well as on topics related to environmental protection, human cohesion, peace and security. He has taught sustainability and conflict resolution in various universities in Italy and abroad,

Sergio Mattarella holds a Law Degree from “La Sapienza” University of Rome and was admitted to the Palermo Bar Association in 1967. He taught parliamentary law at the Law School of the University of Palermo until 1983, when he took leave of absence upon being elected member of the Chamber of Deputies.  In 1983 he was elected to

Joseph McMonigle was appointed Secretary General of the International Energy Forum in 2020. He has over 20 years of experience working on energy issues in the public and private sectors. Prior to that, McMonigle was the President & Co-Founder of the Abraham Group, and a senior energy analyst for Hedgeye Risk Management. He was also

Dr. Hamza Meddeb is a fellow at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, where his research focuses on economic reform, political economy of conflicts, and border insecurity across the Middle East and North Africa.   Meddeb is also assistant professor at the South Mediterranean University (SMU) in Tunis. Prior to that, Meddeb was a

Tarek Megerisi is a senior policy fellow with the North Africa and Middle East programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations. He is a political analyst and researcher who specialises in Libyan affairs and more generally politics, governance and development in the Arab world. Megerisi started his career in Tripoli, Libya with the Sadeq

Zineb Mekouar was born in Casablanca. She studied at the French international school Lycée Lyautey and later graduated from Science Po and HEC Paris before launching her career in strategic consulting, serving in the campaign of French President Emmanuel Macron. Her debut novel “La Poule et son Cumin” (The Hen and its Cumin) tells the

Giogia Meloni began her political commitment at the age of 15.  In 1998 she was elected councilor of the Province of Rome for the National Alliance, remaining in office until 2002. In 2006 she was elected for the first time to the Chamber of Deputies.  In December 2012 you founded, together with Guido Crosetto and

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, Dr. Mezran brings enormous depth of understanding to the transition in Libya and elsewhere in the region. In addition,

Dr. Silvio Micali has taught in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department of the MIT since 1983. His research interests are cryptography, zero knowledge, pseudorandom generation, secure protocols, and mechanism design and blockchain. In 2017, he founded Algorand, a fully decentralized, secure, and scalable blockchain which provides a common platform for building products and

Alessandra Migliaccio covers European economics and policy making from Rome, including G7s, G20s, Ecofins, and central bank news, for global news agency Bloomberg News. With over 20 years experience in international journalism and media communication, her articles have been published in a wide range of media from Businessweek, to the Wall Street Journal, to the

Osama Mobarez has over thirty years of experience in the Oil & Gas industry. He is currently the Secretary General of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum. Prior to this, he served for 14 years in the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, and he was responsible for the Realization Office to drive Egypt’s Modernization Program across the

Miro Modrusan works as Geneva Representative and Policy Advisor at INTERSOS. He has 27 years of experience in complex and challenging international contexts and a vast experience in all aspects of project management and coordination. From 2013 to 2017, he was Head of Operations at ACAPS (Assessment Capacities Project) where he managed projects regarding Ebola

Enrico Molinaro is the founder and secretary-general of the Italian Network for the Euro-Mediterranean Dialogue. In addition, he is also the President, Founder and Foundraiser of no-profit cultural association Mediterranean Prospective and Jerusalem Holy Places Center (JHPC). Molinaro also collaborates with scientific journals and he is also contract professors for euro-mediterranean area university courses.

She has over twenty-eight years of experience as a World Bank development economist, including several positions as Lead Economist, mainly for the Global Tax Team, the West Africa Region, the Investment Climate Department, and the Office of the Vice-President for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management. As a Senior Economist, she previously worked at the World

Pol Morillas is Director and Senior Research Fellow at CIDOB (Barcelona Centre for International Affairs). He is a political scientist, holds a PhD in Politics, Policies and International Relations from the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB) and a master’s in International Relations from the London School of Economics. He has taught at several universities, including the

Margherita Movarelli joined the Martens Centre in 2014. She worked as Senior Project Officer in charge of projects with the Centre’s partner organisations. Prior to that, she worked as an assistant to a Member of Parliament in the Italian Senate. She was also Head of Research and Communication at the Italian political foundation Magna Carta.  

Ambassador Dr. Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak, holds a PhD in Business Administration from the University of Baghdad, He worked as an Assistant Professor in several Yemeni universities, and headed the Business Administration Centre for Graduate Studies at Sana’a University. In 2012, Dr. BinMubarak was appointed as a member of the Preparatory Committee in charge of

Ms. Taghrid Nafeisi has worked in the field of financial investments and portfolio management in several regional and international companies. She is the President and CEO  at Al- Multaqaa Brokerage & Investment Co. Ms. Taghrid Nafeisi, is on the board of Financial and Investment Association, member on the UN Women Social Advisory and Consulting, member

Bo Viktor Nylund is a humanitarian and development practitioner who has served the most vulnerable children and families in different parts of the world throughout his career. BVN has master’s degrees in law and political science from Columbia University Law School and Abo Akademi University and a PhD in international law from the Geneva Graduate

Yacine Oualid holds a PhD in medicine, he launched several startups, one of which became the first cloud provider in Algeria. He is also an active member of the tech community and a founding member of many tech organization in Algeria and also in the Maghreb Region. When he was appointed minister of startups in

Taha Özhan, research director at Ankara Institute, served as a visiting scholar at Oxford University in 2019-2020. Between 2014 and 2016, he served as the chief advisor to the Prime Minister, the 25th and 26th term deputy and the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. He served as

Antonio M.A. Pedro is a mineral exploration geologist with more than 40 years of broad experience of and exposure to development issues and management at national, sub-regional, and continental levels. He joined the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in 2001, where he was (2016-2021) the Director of ECA’s Sub-regional Office for Central Africa

Fabio Petito is Head of the ISPI Programme on “Religions and International Relations” of the Italian Institute for International Politcal Studies supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. He teaches International Relations at the University of Sussex where he leads the Freedom of Religion or Belief and Foreign Policy Initiative. He is also and

Gilberto Pichetto Fratin was graduated in economics and commerce in 1978 at the University of Turin, and then began his activities as an accountant and teacher of economic subjects in some technical institutes.  Still a graduate student, he started his political commitment at the local level, joining the municipal council of Gifflenga (Biella); later he became

Since July 2020 Lapo Pistelli is the Director Public Affairs of Eni. He first joined Eni as Senior Vice President of Stakeholder Relations and Business Development Support in 2015, becoming the company’s Director of International Relations in 2017. Prior to that he served as Italy’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation from 2013

Dr. Jyotsna Puri is the Associate Vice-President – Strategy and Knowledge Department (SKD) at IFAD. She leads the organizations strategy work in IFAD’s key areas targeting agriculture, climate, gender, nutrition, youth and social inclusion. Puri provides the vision for evidence-informed advice on program designs and implementation, contributing to resource mobilization, and supporting IFAD’s global remit

Francesco Rocca is the President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). A lawyer by profession, he joined the Italian Red Cross as Head of Emergency Operations in 2008. He then served as Extraordinary Commissioner from 2009-2013 before being appointed National President – a role he holds to this day

Olivier Roy is presently Professor at the European University Institute (Florence): he is the scientific adviser of the Middle East Directions programme at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies and heads the ReligioWest research project (funded by the European Research Council). He has been a Senior Researcher at the French National Center for Scientific Research

Ayman Safadi was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2017 and appointed as Deputy Prime Minister in Bisher Al-Khasawneh’s Cabinet on 12 October 2020. In the mid-1980s, Ayman began his professional career in journalism and communications, before moving into politics and then management. During this time, he was the Director General of the Jordan Radio

Ilkka Salmi was appointed as EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator in 2021. Previously, he served as the Director of the Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Directorate at the European Commission.  He was Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior in Finland, which is the ministry for internal security and migration in 2018-2020. He was a member of

Dr Bruno Scholl is the Head of the Iran Division at the European External Action Service of the EU (EEAS) in Brussels dealing with the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), bilateral EU/Iran relations and Iran-related regional issues. Previously he served as Deputy Head of the Strategic Policy Planning Division in the EEAS covering the Brexit negotiations

Sameh Shoukry was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in June 2014. In 1982 he became Second Secretary to the Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in Egypt. He served as Counselor to the Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in Cairo (1988-1990). He was then

Takei Shunshuke is the current State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan.  He was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in December 2012. In 2021-2022, he acted as Deputy Chairperson of the Diet Affairs Committee for the Liberal Democratic Party.  He graduated from Faculty of Letters, Chuo University and then completed a Master’s

Giampaolo Silvestri joined AVSI in 1996. From representative of projects for Eastern Europe, he became Area Project Manager and later Executive Director. In 2013 he received the position of Secretary General and was confirmed for a new four-year term in 2017 and 2021. In 2015 he was appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International

Konstantinos Skrekas has been serving as the Minister of Energy and Environment for Greece since 2021. Previously, he acted as Minister of Development and Competitiveness (2014-2015) and Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Food, responsible for the Common Agriculture Policy (2019-2021). In the past he also worked in the sector of Fast Moving Consumer Goods: he was

Margherita Stancati is a correspondent covering Southern Europe and based in Rome. Before that, Margherita was in the Middle East, reporting mostly on Saudi Arabia. She was previously based in Afghanistan and India for the paper. 

Antonio Tajani graduated in Law from the La Sapienza University of Rome, he was an officer in the Italian Air Force. Professional journalist and parliamentary journalist, editor of Il Settimanale, he hosted the Rai Radio 1 news programme and was in charge of the Roman editorial office of Il Giornale. Among the founders of Forza Italia

Bayan Tal is a media development, media literacy, and communication specialist with more than 40 years of experience. She began her career as a broadcast journalist, anchor, and later executive at the Jordan Radio and Television Corporation (JRTVC), served as international press secretary to His Majesty King Abdullah II, and returned to JRTVC as its

Prof. Michaël Tanchum teaches international relations and political economy of the Middle East and North Africa at Universidad de Navarra, Spain. He is also senior fellow at the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy (AIES).    His recent publications include: “Turkey’s Maghreb-West Africa Economic Architecture: Opportunities And Challenges” (Berlin – Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, 2021);

Tawfik is a Board Member of the General Authority for Investments and Free Zones (GAFI), Egypt Sovereign Wealth Fund, Egyptian Countryside Development Company, the Egyptian food safety authority, the Chamber of Food Industries, Agricultural Bank of Egypt, Industrial Modernization Center-Ministry of Foreign Trade & Industry, Egyptian Poultry Federation, The Holding Company for Cotton, Spinning, Weaving

Loredana Teodorescu, PhD, is an expert on international affairs and EU. She is the President of the Italian chapter of Women In International Security (WIIS), and the Head of the Mediterranean Women Mediators Network. She currently manages the Secretariat of the Global Alliance of Regional Women Mediator Networks. Additionally, she is the Head of EU

Mr. Maximo Torero Cullen is the Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). He joined the Organization in January 2019 as Assistant Director-General for the Economic and Social Development Department. Prior to joining FAO, he was the World Bank Group Executive Director for Argentina, Bolivia, Chile Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay since November 2016

Ugo Tramballi is ISPI Senior Advisor in charge of the Institute’s India Desk. A veteran journalist, he joined the Metropolitan section of “Il Giornale” in 1976. He served as the newspaper’s Middle East correspondent in Beirut from 1983 to ’87 with war correspondences from Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and extensive coverage in India and Pakistan.

Giulio Tremonti is an Italian politician and currently Professor of tax law at the University of Pavia. He has been multiple times Minister of Economy and Finance (1994-95, 2001-04, 2005-06, 2008-11), Vice–President of the Council of Ministers (2005-06) and Vice-President of the Chamber of deputies (2006-08). In the 2022 general election he was re-elected as a member of

Maria Tripodi is the current Undersecretary of State to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. She is a former member of the Italian Society of Military History (SISM) and a consultant to public and private institutions. Her started her political career as a member and leader of youth movements and organisations. In

Dr. Ali Vaez is Crisis Group’s Iran Project Director and Senior Adviser to the President. He led Crisis Group’s efforts in helping to bridge the gaps between Iran and the P5+1 that led to the landmark 2015 nuclear deal. Previously, he served as a Senior Political Affairs Officer at the United Nations Department of Political

Sanam Vakil is the deputy director of the Middle East North Africa Programme, where she leads the Future Dynamics in the Gulf project and the Iran Forum. Sanam’s research focuses regional security, Gulf geopolitics and on future trends in Iran’s domestic and foreign policy. She follows wider Middle Eastern issues as a visiting fellow at

Dr. Gelsomina Vigliotti began her term as EIB Vice-President on 11 October 2021. Her areas of oversight include financing of SMEs and mid-caps, equity and equity-type products, EIB-EIF cooperation, counterpart monitoring and restructuring, new products and special transactions, microfinance, financing operations in Italy, Malta, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine and Syria. Prior to this, she

Thomas Volk studied Islamic Studies and History at the Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg im Breisgau and then completed the German-Turkish Masters Program in Social Sciences”at the Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara and at the Humboldt University in Berlin. Mr Volk was Coordinator of Islam and Religious Dialogue of the Foundation from 2014 to 2016. From

William Wechsler is senior advisor for Middle East Programs at the Atlantic Council and interim director of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. Previously, Wechsler served as deputy assistant secretary of defence for counternarcotic and global threats, where his key areas of focus included integrating law enforcement operations into U.S. military campaigns in

Stephanie Williams served as the Special Adviser on Libya for the UN between December 2021 and August 2022. Before covering this position, she had been the acting special representative of the secretary general (ASRSG) for Libya and head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). Prior to this engagement, as the deputy special

Ms. Wronecka brings over 25 years of experience in diplomacy, international security and Middle East affairs, serving since 2017 as the Permanent Representative of Poland to the United Nations, including during Poland’s membership in the Security Council (2018-2019), and as Under Secretary of State for Arab and African countries, development cooperation and Polish-United Nations relations

Mona Yacoubian’s work centers on conflict analysis and prevention in the Middle East, with a specific focus on Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. Additional research interests include Russia’s role in the Middle East, violent extremism and fragility. Yacoubian also serves as senior advisor to the Executive Office focused on strategic communications and planning. In 2019, 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

Vivian Yee is the Cairo bureau chief, covering politics, society and culture in the Middle East and North Africa. She was previously based in Beirut, Lebanon. Previously, she wrote about immigration in the United States during the Trump administration. Before that, she reported on New York politics and New York City for five years.

Miki Zaide deals with strategic planning, managing the project of long term master plan for the Israeli water sector. His specialties: Defining objectives and goals in the water sector, development of D.S.S (Decision Support Systems), development forecasting water demand methodologies, development of indices for the water sector sustainability, estimation of development program for the water

Hossam Zaki is Assistant Secretary General at the League of Arab States. Prior to this, he served as Assistant Foreign Minister of Egypt for European Affairs from 2015 to 2016. From 2012 to 2015, he was Ambassador of Egypt to Brazil. He also served as senior advisor on the Middle East for successive Egyptian foreign ministers