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

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

Badr Ahmed Mohamed Abdelatty is an Egyptian diplomat and politician serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2024. He served as ambassador to Germany from 2015 to 2019, and as ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, the European Union and NATO until 2024. In addition, he has held various key positions, including Deputy Assistant Secretary of State,

Ahmed Aboul Gheit has been Secretary General of the Arab League since March 2016 and he was reconfirmed in March 2021. He was appointed Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2011.  Previously, from 1999 to 2004, he served as Permanent Representative of Egypt at UN headquarters in New York.  He joined the Egyptian

Mohamed Ali Addarat Serves as the Chairman of the Management Committee of the Libyan Foreign Bank since April 2021. Previously he has served as a Member of parliament in Libya, as Chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee in the GNC. In addition, he has served as the Senior Advisor to the Governor of the

Majed Al Ansari is Advisor to the Prime Minister of Qatar and Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He received his PhD and Master’s degree in Social Change from the University of Manchester, and wrote a thesis entitled, “A Minority of Citizens: The Effects of Religious, Social and Political Values on Trust in

Yousuf Al Bulushi 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 disruptive technology initiatives (4IR, SPI, future disruptive technology, Blockchain

Yasmeen Al Sharaf is the Director of the FinTech & Innovation Unit at the Central Bank of Bahrain (“CBB”), tasked with setting up a conducive ecosystem to facilitate a robust regulatory framework that fosters innovation within the financial services sector. She has been working with the CBB for the past 18 years, whereby, she started

Yasmeen Al-Eryani is Sana’a Center Co-Executive Director for Knowledge Production and the former Director of Research (2021-2023). Al-Eryani is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Social Anthropology at Tampere University, Finland. She holds an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Helsinki and a B.A. in Government Studies from Georgetown University. 

Reem al Hashimy was appointed to the UAE Cabinet as Minister of State in February 2008.  In February 2016, Reem was sworn in as Minister of State for International Cooperation, in the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to this, Reem led the UAE’s bid to host the World Expo 2020 in Dubai.  She served

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

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

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

Ranj Alaaldin is a foreign policy analyst specialised in international security, good governance, track II diplomacy, and public sector reforms. He is a fellow at the MECGA, Director of the Carnegie Corporation’s Crisis Response Council, and a senior consultant at the World Bank.  Alaaldin obtained his PhD in International Law at the London School of

Aziz Alghashian is a researcher from Saudi Arabia who focuses on the kingdom’s foreign policy strategies. He is known, in particular, as a specialist for Saudi-Israeli as well as for Arab-Israeli relations. Aziz joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where he underwent Officer Training, before obtaining his undergraduate degree in International Relations and Global Security

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

Bulent Aras is Research Director of Center for International Policy Research. He is also Visiting Professor at Qatar University, Senior Scholar and Coordinator of the Conflict Resolution and Mediation stream at Istanbul Policy Center, and Research Professor of International Relations at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. As a leading expert on Turkish foreign policy, Middle Eastern politics,

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

Hamidreza Azizi is a Visiting Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), a nonresident Fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, and also an Associate Researcher at Clingendael – the Netherlands Institute of International Relations. Prior, Azizi was an Associate Fellow at Al Sharq Strategic Research in 2022. He

With over 10 years of experience in the energy sector and the youth movement, Sara Badr is a passionate geoscientist and youth activist who facilitates dialogues and collaborations on global challenges such as migration, climate change, and sustainable development. As a facilitator at the United Nations Network on Migration, she supports the implementation of the Global

Enrico Maria Bagnasco has been appointed Sparkle Chief Executive Officer in November 2022. From September 2019 was Sparkle Chief Technology Officer. In July 2018 he has been TIM CTO’s Product & Portfolio Manager and from September 2016 he led TIM Technology Innovation with focus on 5G, network virtualization and slicing, big data analytics and cognitive computing.

Joseph Bahout 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

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

Jean-Noël Barrot is the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France.  He was Minister Delegate for Europe in the French Government between February and September 2024 and Minister Delegate for Digital Affairs from 2022 to 2024. Before joining the Government, Mr Barrot represented the 2nd constituency of the Yvelines department in the National Assembly, where

Darja Bavdaž Kuret is a Slovenian diplomat, social scientist and woman’s right advocate. Her latest diplomatic appointment was Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the UN in New York from 2017-2021.  Darja Bavdaž Kuret graduated with a Degree in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Ljubljana. From 1995 to 1999, she was Ambassador

Sara Bazoobandi is a Marie Curie Fellow at the GIGA Institute of Middle East Studies and Associate Research Fellow at 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

Amitabh Behar is Executive Director of Oxfam International. He is a global civil society leader, with decades of experience in human rights, economic inequalities, governance accountability, philanthropy, democracy, social justice and building citizen participation. Prior to this role, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Oxfam India.  Mr. Behar was the Vice Chair of the

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

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

Jeremy Bowen is the International Editor of BBC News. He has been a foreign correspondent since 1987, reporting more than twenty wars and other conflicts, starting with the civil war in El Salvador in 1989, all the Middle East wars since the 1990-91 Gulf war, the Arab uprisings of 2011 and the rise of ISIS

Franco Brun is President of ISPI and Co-Head of the Observatory on Europe and Global Governance. He is Emeritus Professor at the Department of Economics of Bocconi University, where he was Full Professor of International Monetary Theory and Policy and Member of the University’s Board of Directors. He studied at Bocconi University and at the

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

Clyde Caruana is the Minister of Finance of Malta since November 2020. An economist by training, he has held the position of Executive Chairman at the State employment agency, Jobsplus, since 2014. More recently, he had taken up office as Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff.  During his tenure at Jobsplus, as Chairperson, he authored several

Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone is the Chief of Defence since 2021. He attended the Naval Academy in Livorno, where he graduated in 1980. He served as embarked helicopter pilot for almost 7 years, then, in 1989, he was selected for transition to jet aircraft and returned to USA, where he followed the flight training program

Riccardo Chartroux joined Rai in 1992 and started working for Tg3 three years later, when the then-director Lucia Annunziata brought him to the news desk, while also serving as correspondent. He later moved to the foreign desk following the Lady Diana tragedy. In 2010 he was promoted to anchor Tg3, taking the place of Bianca

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

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 Carlos Conde is leading the work of the OECD with Middle East and African countries, supervising the implementation of the Africa – OECD Partnership, in close coordination with the African Union Commission. Between 2007 and 2014, Mr Conde led the MENA-OECD Governance Programme in the Public Governance Directorate of the OECD and supported the

Loretana Cortis is Executive Vice President of Institutional Affairs at Fincantieri Italy. She holds a Law Degree from the Universy of Rome La Sapienza and she is specialized in Banking and Securities Market Policy and Legislation. Cortis joined the Poste Italiane Group in 2004, where she held various positions; among others, in 2010 she was responsable for

Rear Admiral Stefano Costantino is the Former Force Commander for the European Union Aspides naval operation to protect Red Sea shipping from attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels based in Yemen. In 2023, Rear Admiral Costantino served as tactical commander at sea of “Safe Mediterranean” Operation, while in July 2022, he had instead assumed command of

Stefania Craxi is currently the Chair 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

Maria Cuffaro is an Italian journalist and host of TG3.  Her journalistic career started at il Manifesto, for whom she was sent to India, Pakistan and South Africa. In 1986 she became a radio broadcaster at Italia Radio and went on to officially register as a professonal journalist in 1992. As investigative journalist, she has

Staffan de Mistura is the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Western Sahara since 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 the

Stefano Del Col is Analysis Director at the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic (Supreme Defence Council Secretariat) since July 2022. Previously, he served as UNIFIL Head of Mission/Force Commander and he assumed the rank of UN Assistant Secretary General (ASG). He holds degrees in Military Strategic Sciences and in International and Diplomatic

Alan Déletroz is the Director General of Geneva Call. He has twenty years of experience in conflict-affected areas and has served in several organizations: Executive-in-Residence at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Vice-President of the International Crisis Group in Brussels, Director of the Open Society Institute in Tashkent, Delegate of the International Committee of the

Mohsen Derregia is the President of the Libyan Investment Authority. Previously, he taught Accounting and Finance at the UK’s University of Nottingham. Derregia has a Bachelor’s Degree in Operational Research from St. Andrews University and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Heriot-Watt University’s Edinburgh Business School.  From 2001, he was a Research Fellow at

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

Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky, a foreign policy expert and diplomat specializing in national security affairs, is Vice Chair of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and Senior Fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs. She brings over 30 years of government and international experience across senior levels of

Dr. Dongsheng is Vice Dean of the School of Global and Area Studies at Renmin University of China. He specializes in World Economy and International Political Economy. Additionally, Dr. Dongsheng serves as a Distinguished Research Fellow at the International Monetary Institute of Renmin University of China, and the Vice Chairman of National Association of Emerging

Jiuzhou Duan is Assistant Professor at Tsinghua University. He holds a PhD in Political Science and he is Council Member of the Chinese Society of African Historical Studies (2022-2027) and the Chinese Association for Middle East Studies (2023-2028). He was Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Science at Uskudar University in Turkey

Karim El Aynaoui is the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences of the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University. He is also President of the Policy Center for the New South (former OCP Policy Center) and serves as Advisor to the CEO and Chairman of OCP Group, a global leader in the phosphate sector.

Gonzalo Escribano heads the Energy and Climate Programme at the Elcano Royal Institute. He is also Professor of Applied Economics at the UNED. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Madrid’s Complutense University, and he has been a Visiting Researcher at Florida State University and the Autonomous University of Madrid, and Associate Researcher at

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

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.

Daniela Fatarella is currently the General Director of Save the Children Italy, where she was previously Head of Marketing Communications. Prior to that, 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

Melita Gabrič is a professional diplomat. She holds a PhD in International Relations, specializing in International Conflict Mediation. Before being appointed as State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs in September 2024, she served for six years in Canada. Her most recent position there was as the EU Ambassador and Head of the

Malte Gaier is Resident Representative to Tunisia of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS). He was trained at the University of Erfurt in Germany. From 2017 to 2021, he was Resident Representative to Lebanon and previously Desk Officer of the Middle East and North Africa Department at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (2015-2018), where he was also

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

Roberta Gatti is the Chief Economist of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region of the World Bank, which she joined 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 markets, including as

Kamel Ghribi is the President of GKSD Investment Holding Group. Since its inception, GKSD has become the provider of choice for the conception, creation and management of complex healthcare projects with a strong presence in Italy, Africa and the MENA region. As the driving force and President of ECAM (The European Corporate Council on Africa

Thomas Gomart was appointed Director of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) after serving as Director of strategic development from 2010 to 2015 and founding and directing IFRI’s Russia/NIS Center from 2004 to 2013. Prior to that, Gomart worked at Marne-la-Vallée University (1996-1999) and for the French Ministry of Defense. He has also been

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 TG3. She travelled to Africa, Europe, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel and the Palestinian territories

Nimrod Goren is Senior Fellow 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 Maxwell School of

Gordan Grlić-Radman is a Croatian diplomat and politician serving as Minister of Foreign and European Affairs since July 2019. Grlić-Radman started his career in business, working in Switzerland for Melior-Haefliger AG from 1984 to 1991. In those years, he was active in the Croatian diaspora as President of the Croatian Cultural Community in Switzerland (1984–1988)

Rachid Hachichi is an Algerian business leader. He is the current Chairman and CEO of the Sonatrach group since October 2023. He holds an Engineering Degree from Institut National des Hydrocarbures et de la Chimie INHC Boumerdes. Hachichi joined SONATRACH in September 1987 and worked as Site Engineer, Department Manager, Division Manager and Regional Production Manager. Since 2014, he held several

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

Marco Hannappel is the CEO of Philip Morris Italy. He 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

Jalel Harchaoui is Associate Fellow at Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). He is a political scientist specialising in North Africa, with a specific focus on Libya. He worked on the same topics previously at The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, a Geneva-based NGO, as well as at the Clingendael Institute, based in The Hague.

David Harland is the Executive Director of the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue since 2011. Previously, he worked for the United Nations, including in Bosnia, Kosovo, Haiti and Timor Leste and now he serves on the UN Secretary-General’s high-level advisory board on mediation. He is the former Chair of the World Economic Forum conflict prevention council,

Laurence Hart has been Chief of Mission of the IOM Mission in Libya since December 2005. Prior to this post he was Chief of Mission of IOM Tunisia since June 2003. He joined IOM in 1997.  Mr. Hart has worked for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) various times from 1996 to

Igli Hasani is the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Previously, he held the post of Coordinator for Economic and Environmental Activities within the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) between 2021 and 2023.  Mr. Hasani also served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Albania to the

Lahib Higel, as Crisis Group’s Senior Analyst for Iraq, covers politics, governance, security and conflict in the country. Higel has worked in Iraq and the Kurdistan region in various capacities since 2013. Most recently, she has worked on mediation efforts in Iraq, Libya and Syria for the Dialogue Advisory Group (DAG). She has worked as

Emile Hokayem is the Director of Regional Security and Senior Fellow for Middle East Security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He specialises in regional politics, security and conflict analysis in the Middle East, including the national security and defence policies of the Middle Eastern States, the role of armed non-State actors, and the

Ervin Ibrahimović is a Montenegrin politician serving as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is the current President of the conservative Bosniak Party (BS), minority party representing Bosniaks in Montenegro, succeeding the party founder Rafet Husović in 2021. Ibrahimović holds a Master’s degree from the University of Belgrade. 

Dr. S. Jaishankar is India’s External Affairs Minister since May 30th, 2019. He is a Member of the Upper House (Rajya Sabha) of India’s Parliament from the State of Gujarat. He was Foreign Secretary from 2015-18, Ambassador to United States (2013-15), China (2009-2013) and Czech Republic (2000-2004). He was High Commissioner to Singapore (2007-2009). He

Sarine Karajerjian is the Program Director of the Environmental Politics program at the Arab Reform Initiative (ARI). Prior to working at ARI, she worked for 15 years at the AUB’s Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs since the Institute’s inception. Her previous work covered strategic management, fundraising and outreach, and partnerships and

Ms Saana Keskitalo is a conflict resolution professional with fourteen years of experience in various dialogue, mediation and capacity building processes at CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation, an independent Finnish organization specializing in conflict resolution, with operations in three continents. Her experience focuses on the design, implementation and management of informal conflict prevention and

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

Professor Lina Khatib is the Director of the SOAS Middle East Institute at SOAS University of London, where she is MBI Al Jaber Chair in Middle East Studies and Professor of Practice in the Department of Politics and International Studies. Before becoming Director of the SOAS Middle East Institute, she directed policy research programmes at

Merissa Khurma is the Program Director of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center. She was a non-resident Fellow in the International Security program at New America. She has leadership experience working in a range of development projects in the Middle East that focused on economic development, the Syrian refugee crisis, education, youth, gender

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

Elmedin Konaković is a Bosnian politician serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs since January 2023. He obtained a Master of Arts degree in Sports Management from the University of Sarajevo. Mr. Konaković became politically engaged in 2004, when he was elected to the Municipal Council of the Centar Sarajevo Municipality. From 2010 to 2014, he was elected representative in the Sarajevo Canton Assembly,

Nikolay Kozhanov is a Research Associate Professor at the Gulf Studies Center of Qatar University. His research focuses on the geopolitics of Gulf energy, Russian foreign policy in the Middle East, as well as Iran’s economy and international relations. Dr. Kozhanov has been a Visiting Fellow at a number of leading international think-tanks including Chatham

Mrs Frida Krifca is the President of Chieam since April 2023. She is Minister of Agriculture of Albania as of September 2021, with 22 years of experience in administration and management and a special focus on the development and strengthening of the financial sector, use of financial services and business development, meeting national, international and

Rayed Krimly is Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Italy. Krimly began his diplomatic career in 2002, until becoming Minister Plenipotentiary and Head of the Department for Western Countries, after devoting himself to his studies and earning a Master’s and Doctorate Degrees in Political Science as well as undertaking academic work in Riyadh. In 2010, he was Ambassador

Igor Kuželka was appointed Acting Assistant Foreign Minister for Security Policy in 2023.  He holds a Degree in Economics and he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in March 2000 as an intern.  Having completed training at the Diplomatic Academy, in May 2001, he was granted the rank of Attaché, working in the Department for Multilateral

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

Wolfram Lacher is a Senior Associate of Africa and Middle East at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). He holds a PhD in Political Science from Humboldt University in Berlin and a Master’s Degree in Violence, Conflict & Development from SOAS, London. From 2007 to 2010 he was North Africa Analyst at

Álvaro Lario is the President of the International Fund of Agricultural Development (IFAD). A seasoned international development finance leader, he has more than 20 years of experience across academia, private sector asset management, World Bank Group and the United Nations, including as Associate Vice-President of Financial Operations at IFAD.  Under his stewardship, IFAD became the

Paolo Lombardo is the Director for International Development Cooperation at Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP). Lombardo graduated in Economics from Bocconi and has held positions of increasing responsibility in various companies and institutions, including Eni, S.G. Warburg, Asian Development Bank and ABB Structured Finance. He then joined the European Investment Bank (EIB) in 2002 and, in

Chiara Lovotti is an ISPI Research Fellow and Scientific Coordinator of “Rome MED-Mediterranean Dialogues”, ISPI’s and the Italian MoFA’s annual flagship event. She is a specialist in international relations of the MENA, with a focus on Russia’s foreign policy in the area and associated political and security issues. Chiara’s doctoral research (University of Bologna) explored

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

Monica Maggioni is an Italian journalist and writer. She has been President of Rai – Radiotelevisione Italiana – from 2015 until 2018 and CEO of Rai Com SpA commercial branch of Rai, Radiotelevisione Italiana Group until 2020. From 2021 to 2023, she was Director of Tg1.  She has been Vice President of EBU, the European

Paolo Magri is Managing Director and Chair of the Advisory Board of the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) and Professor of International Relations at Bocconi University. He is member of the Europe Policy Group of the World Economic Forum (Davos) and member of the Board of Directors of LUISS University. He is a regular

Riad 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

Emma Marcegaglia is Vice President of ISPI.  She holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the New York University. Marcegaglia is Deputy Chairman and CEO of Marcegaglia Steel and subsidiaries, operating in the steel processing sector, and Chairman and CEO of Marcegaglia Investments, the holding company that controls the Group’s diversified activities. Moreover, she

María Martín Delgado is a Foreign Editor at El País. She is a journalist specialising in the coverage of the migration phenomenon in Spain. She began her career at EL PAÍS as a local news reporter, moved to El Mundo and then to Brazil. There she worked at Folha de S. Paulo, was part of

Giampiero Massolo is the President of Mundys since 2022. He has been President of Atlantia since 29 April 2022 and President of ISPI since 2017. Ambassador Massolo, a career diplomat, has served as Director-General of the Department of Information for Security under the Prime Minister’s office (2012-16), as Sherpa for the G8 and G20 of

Raffaello Matarazzo is Public Affairs Manager at Eni (Government affairs department). Previously, he worked as Africa Public Affairs Manager in Ghana, monitoring and analyzing geopolitical scenarios, economic and political trends, and strategic issues in Africa and enhancing the institutional support to Eni’s businesses. Before joining Eni, Matarazzo taught Strategic Studies at the University of Perugia

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

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 at Sapienza University of Rome and Non-Resident Senior Fellow for the North Africa and Middle East Program

Giorgia Meloni is the President of the Council of Ministers of Italy. She became involved in politics at the age of 15, as a student and youth movement member. At 21, she was elected councillor of the Province of Rome and, at 27, she was elected leader of Azione Giovani, the youth movement of the

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

Andrea Minuto Rizzo is Head of European and International Institutional Affairs at Ferrovie dello Stato, Italy. He was Head of the International Affairs Office at the Italian Antitrust Authority and in the Institutional Affairs Department at Enel. He is a Board Member of Gruppo di Iniziativa Italiana (GII) and Gruppo Tecnico Europa (Confindustria).  He holds

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 (EMGF). 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

Negar Mortazavi is an award-winning journalist and commentator, editor and host of the Iran Podcast, and a Senior Fellow at the Center for International Policy (CIP), based in Washington DC. She has been covering Iranian and Middle Eastern affairs as well as US foreign policy towards the Middle East for over a decade.  She received

Alia Moubayed is an experienced economist, a policy practitioner and strategist with more than 25 years of experience in government, international financial institutions, financial markets and think-tanks. She assumed research, policy and management responsibilities in the design and implementation of economic and financial sector reforms covering the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and other

Timcho Mucunski is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of North Macedonia since June 2024. After graduating from the Iustinianus Primus Faculty of Law at the Ss. Cyril and Мethodius University in Skopje in 2009, Mucunski completed Master studies in 2011 and Doctoral studies in 2019 at the same faculty. He started his

Vali Nasr is the Majid Khadduri Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center. He served as the eighth Dean of Johns Hopkins SAIS between 2012 and 2019 and served as Senior Advisor

Ali Mohamed Omar is the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Somalia. He holds a Master’s of Business Administration from California State University in collaboration with Somali Institute of Development Administration and Management (SIDAM).  Omar worked in the information technology field for over 30 years. He started his career as Teaching Assistant and then he

Imam Yahya Pallavicini is President of COREIS, the Islamic Religious Community of Italy. It is one of the principal organizations of institutional representation of Islam in Italy with a vocation for theological training, ecumenism, and intercultural education. Imam Pallavicini has been a member of the Italian Minister of the Interior’s Council on Islam in Italy

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

Vice Admiral Yalçın Payal was promoted to rank of Vice Admiral on 30 August 2024. As of 11 August 2024, he has been serving as the Chief of Staff of the Naval Forces.   Vice Admiral Payal received his Master’s of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School/USA and then he served as

Geir O. Pedersen has been appointed as Special Envoy for Syria in October 2018. He brings to this position decades of political and diplomatic experience, having served both in government and United Nations capacities, most recently as Norway’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China (since 2017) and as Permanent Representative of Norway to the

Riccardo Pozzi is Head of European and Rest of the World Affairs at ENEL. He graduated in Law, with a specialization in International Law at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan, Italy. He was selected by the European Parliament for the Young Leadership Forum of the Eastern Partnership and EU. He has taken part

Luca Raineri is Assistant Professor in security studies at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies of Pisa (Italy). He was a member of the Research School on peace and conflict in Oslo (2014-2016) and a visiting researcher at the Autonomous University of Madrid (2017). His research draws on critical security and conflict studies, and investigates

Huda Raouf is the Head of Iranian Studies at the Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies and former Senior researcher of the Prime minister office at the Egyptian cabinet. She holds a PhD in Political Science and Government from Cairo University and she is a member of the Political Science Committee at the Supreme Culture Council.

Francesco Rocchetti is the ISPI Secretary General and the Rome MED Dialogues Curator. Prior to that, he led the team that played a central role in building ISPI’s external profile and overseeing the brand and communications strategies, digital communications, and content marketing. He also worked on transforming the Institute’s digital identity and promoting the think

Ayman Safadi is currently Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Jordan. 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 and Television Corporation, Editor-in-chief and columnist in “Al-Ghad” daily newspaper,

Abdulaziz Al Sager is the chairman and founder of the Gulf Research Center. Sager is also the president of Sager Group Holding in Saudi Arabia, which is active in the fields of information technology, aviation services, and investments. Sager is a member of the Makkah Province Council and serves on the advisory board to various

Heba Saleh is the FT Cairo correspondent. She covers political, economic and business news across all of North Africa. She has been full time with the FT since 2008. Before that she worked for the BBC in both London and Cairo as a radio correspondent and radio producer. She has written for the Economist, the

Paul Salem is the Vice President for International Engagement at Middle East Institute. He served previously as MEI’s President and CEO.  He is currently based in the Middle East and works on building partnerships throughout the region.  His research focuses on issues of political change, transition, and conflict as well as the regional and international

Nicola Sandri leads McKinsey’s work in transport infrastructure globally and the travel, logistics, and infrastructure projects in the Mediterranean complex. He supports major transport and infrastructure organizations, with a particular focus on enhancing sales and distribution channels, boosting international growth, and large investment and capex optimization. Before joining McKinsey, Sandri worked in another consulting firm,

Samir Saran is the President of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), India’s premier think tank, headquartered in New Delhi. His research focuses on issues of global governance, climate change and energy policy, technology and media, and India’s foreign policy. Saran completed his doctoral studies at the Global Sustainability Institute, UK. As ORF’s President and member

Lara Scarpitta is the current OSCE Senior Adviser on Gender Issues. She is an expert on peace mediation and Women, Peace and Security (WPS) with over a decade of experience in promoting the role of women in conflict and post-conflict countries in South East Europe and in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region

Dahlia Scheindlin is a Fellow at Century International, based in Tel Aviv. In the past, she has worked at Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, GCS Issue Management, and the Israel Democracy Institute. As an independent consultant, she conducts extensive public opinion and policy research on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the peace process, issues of democracy, human rights,

Silke Vera Maria Schmitt is Country Director of the Hanns Seidel Foundation Italy/Vatican in Rome. She was born in Germany on the Moselle, in the heart of Europe and near Schengen. She studied Sociology, Media, and Communication Sciences in Marburg and Rome. In 2013, she completed a Master’s Degree in “Experts in Politics and International

Mr. Salvatore Sciacchitano is the sixth President of the ICAO Council since January 2020. He graduated in Telecommunications Engineering from the University of Catania and began his career in aviation in 1980, joining the Italian Airworthiness Authority (RAI), where he served as the organization’s Regulation Director in 1992, then as Technical Director and, in 1996, as Director

Carlo Secchi is currently a Member of the Supervisory Committee of ISPI, where he was Vice-Chairman from July 2005 to April 2024 and Chairman for the second half of 2016. Secchi is a Professor Emeritus of European Economic Policy at Milan’s Bocconi University, where he was Rector from 2000 to 2004. At the same University,

Marta Serafini is a journalist of the foreign desk at Corriere della Sera. Currently, she is covering the war in Ukraine and the migrants crisis in MENA, but she also works is Afghanistan, Turkey, Syria and Iraq. She wrote “Maria Giulia who became Fatima”, an instant book born from a Skype conversation with Italy’s first

Katarzyna W. Sidło is a Director of the MENA Department at CASE – Center for Social and Economic Research, specializing in the political economy, geo-economics and socioeconomic development of the European Union’s Southern Neighbourhood, as well as EU-Mediterranean relations. She has a proven track record working on studies, evaluations and impact assessments commissioned by various

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

Carl Skau is WFP’s Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer. In this role, he leads the organization’s overall coordination, strategic direction, humanitarian diplomacy, and support for field operations. He also supports corporate efforts to maximize WFP’s inter-agency collaboration and partnerships.   Prior to joining WFP, Mr. Skau headed the Department for Multilateral Partnerships at

Mohammed Soliman is the director of the Strategic Technologies and Cyber Security Program at the Middle East Institute, where he leads a global team of scholars to explore the policy challenges associated with the intersection of technology, geopolitics, and business in the Middle East and emerging markets more broadly. He is also a visiting fellow

Charlotta Sparre is the Deputy Director of SIPRI. Sparre has served as a Swedish diplomat for over three decades, including as Sweden’s Ambassador to Jordan (2008–2013) and Egypt (2013–17) and as Director of the Swedish Foreign Ministry’s Diplomatic Training Programme (2017–19). Most recently (2019–24), Sparre served as Director of the Swedish Dialogue Institute for the

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. She was part of a reporting team whose coverage of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was a 2022 Pulitzer

Mona Sukkarieh is a political risk consultant working on the oil and gas sector, with a special focus on Eastern Mediterranean countries. She advises a variety of governmental institutions on energy-related matters, international companies interested in the oil and gas sector in the region, and international organizations providing assistance to Lebanon in managing its nascent

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

Valeria Talbot is a Senior Research Fellow and Head of ISPI’s Middle East and North Africa Centre. She also is a lecturer at the Master in Middle Eastern Studies in ASERI – Catholic University, and at the IULM University of Milan. She was ISPI scientific coordinator of Arab Trans, a FP7 funded research project on

Kadri Tastan is a nonresident senior fellow in GMF’s Brussels office. His research focuses on Türkiye, the EU, transatlantic relations, energy, climate, and trade. Prior to joining GMF, he was an expert on European affairs and environmental issues at the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB). Tastan has also been an IPC Mercator fellow at

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.

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. She started her political career as a member and leader of youth movements and organisations. In

Rim Turkmani is a Research Fellow at the Conflict and Civil Society Research Unit in the Department of International Development at LSE, where she directs the Syria conflict research programme. Her policy-oriented research work focuses on identity politics, legitimate governance, transforming war economy it into peace economy and the relationship between local and external drivers

Ali Vaez is Crisis Group’s Iran Project Director and Senior Adviser to the President. Vaez holds a Ph.D. from the University of Geneva 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

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

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,

Klaus Welle is the former Secretary-General of the European Parliament, a role in which he served from 2009 to 2022. He chairs the Martens Centre’s Academic Council. He is also a Guest Professor in practice at the London School of Economics, a Visiting Professor at KU Leuven and a Leader in Residence at the Moynihan

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

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

Shaya Mohsin Zindani is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Yemen. Previously, he held several positions in the diplomatic service, such as Extraordinary Ambassador and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2017-2024), the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (2010-2015) and the Italian Republic (2005-2010). He’s member of the Supreme Committee for Political and