Category: Invited guests

Lawyer at the Paris Bar and currently practicing at the Bar of Benin, President of the African Association of International Law. He is also a member of the Curatorium of the African Academy for Regional Cooperation and a member of the honorary committee of the Fondation René Cassin (France). Former Chairman of the Bar, Robert DOSSOU was a member of Parliament, Minister of Planning and then Minister for Foreign Affairs. Former President of the Constitutional Court of Bénin, expert consultant, he has carried out and still carries out various missions for various international organizations: UN, AU, ECOWAS, OIF… etc. He is an arbitrator of international trade. President of the National Preparatory Committee of the National Conference of Benin, he is the author of several publications on democracy, human rights and the democratic transition. A former professor at the University of Paris I and then at the University of Abomey-Calavi (UAC BENIN), and honorary dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of the UAC, he is also associate member of the French Académie des Sciences d’Outre-Mer, Grand Officer of the National Order of Benin and Commander of the Academic Palms (France).

Starting September 2017, Mr. Cosmin Ghita is the CEO of Nuclearelectrica (SNN), the only nuclear energy producer in Romania, which covers approximately 20% of the national energy consumption needs. Starting 2019 he is the only Romanian member of the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) Main Governing Board. Mr. Ghita’s role as Nuclearelectrica’s CEO is to implement strategic projects that support Romania’s energy security, its transition process and its decarbonization targets. Through its investment projects, Nuclearelectrica will double its capacity after 2031 and the contribution in Romania’s total CO2-free energy production will increase to 66% by 2030.

CEO & Chairman of the Board, Grup Servicii Petroliere, top offshore construction and drilling holding in the Black Sea. Mr. Comanescu established Grup Servicii Petroliere in 2004 and has served as President of the Board ever since. Under this leadership, the company has developed into a complex holding, which provides an integrated system of services, covering all major aspects of a project, from engineering, through planning, procurement, fabrication, installation and decommissioning. GSP owns and operates the biggest roster of specialized assets in the region, from AHTS and PSV vessels, to offshore floating cranes, offshore construction barges, ROVs and offshore drilling rigs, suited for both shallow and deep water. GSP’s footprint became global. GSP Holding successfully completed various offshore construction and drilling EPCI projects throughout the world, worth more than 4 billion dollars. Presently, GSP is developing major EPCI projects in the Black Sea, and is developing its capabilities to engage in deep water drilling, onshore drilling, and onshore construction.

Mr. Comanescu has a degree in Naval Electromechanical Engineering from the “Mircea cel Bătrân” Naval Academy, Constanta, Romania. Shortly after graduating, in 1992, Mr. Comănescu set out to become one of the most successful business men in the industrial sector. Throughout his career he received various awards and acknowledgements, maintaining a constant presence in the Wealthiest Romanians list. 

Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) from 12 September 2014 to 7 April 2021. He has extensive experience after a long and distinguished career in both international and governmental forums. Before joining UNOWAS, Mr. Chambas was the African Union-United Nations Joint Special Representative for Darfur and Head of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur. A former Member of Parliament of Ghana, Mr. Chambas served as Deputy Foreign Secretary of Ghana in 1987 and Deputy Minister for Education in charge of Tertiary Education from 1997 to 2000.

Professor of International Political Economy and Dean at the School of International Communication, Kansai University of International Studies since April 2019. Prior to that, he taught at Keio University (2005-2019). He also served as Deputy-Director General of the Economic Affairs Bureau in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (2002-2004) and then Special Assistant to the Japanese Foreign Minister in 2004. He had a major role in different Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) such as the Japan-Mexico EPA, Japan-EU EPA and the Japan-India EPA. Prof. Watanabe currently serves on the Panel on Brexit issues organized by the KEIDANREN (The Japanese Federation of Economic Organizations).

Venture Partner at D4 Ventures, a UK-based technology investment platform. He chairs the international advisory firm Kroton Consulting, advising tech companies on international legal and financial issues. He is the Founding Vice-Chair & President (2009–19) of the Global Relations Forum. His policy work focuses on the complex dynamics between geopolitics, geoeconomics and technology. Previously, he served as the Founding Managing Director of the Istanbul Technical University (ITU) ARI science park, Istanbul’s leading technology entrepreneurship community. During his tenure at ITU, he was senior advisor to ITU’s President and strategic advisor at the university’s Center for Satellite Communications. He is the coauthor of a book on republican era Turkish foreign policy. He received BS degrees in electrical engineering and economics from M.I.T., MSc in finance from LSE, and JD from Columbia University. He is a member of the NY State Bar.

President of Center for International Public Policy Studies (CIPPS) and freelance economic critic specializing in a variety of fields, including international and Japanese economics, politics, and industry. He was previously President of the 21st Century Public Policy Institute. He graduated from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law and finished all coursework for a Ph.D. at the Economic Research Division. His publications include The Great Stagnation of China (2016) and Japan’s Growth Strategy (2013, co-written with CIPPS). 

Eminent Ambassador of Mexico and President of Rozental & Asociados. Andrés Rozental also holds non-executive board positions in several important multinational companies in Europe and Mexico. He was a career diplomat for more than 35 years, having served his country as Mexico’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1995-1997), as Deputy Foreign Minister (1988-1994) and as Ambassador to Sweden (1983-1988). He was Mexico’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva (1982-1983), and has held senior responsibilities within the Mexican Foreign Ministry and abroad. Andrés founded the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations and since 1994, has the lifetime Rank of Eminent Ambassador.

President of the Jacques Delors Institute. Former Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) at Sciences Po in Paris. He was the Prime Minister of Italy from April 2013 to February 2014 before becoming Secretary General of the Italian Democratic Party (PD). He previously served as Minister for EU Affairs (1998-1999), as Minister for Industry, Commerce and Crafts and Foreign Trade (2000-2001), among others, and as Undersecretary of State to the Prime Minister Romano Prodi (2006-2008). He was member of the Italian Parliament (2001-2015), excluding between 2004 and 2006 when he was member of the European Parliament. He also served as Deputy Secretary of the Democratic Party (2009-2013). He graduated in International Law at the University of Pisa (his hometown) and obtained a Ph.D. in European Union Law at the School for Advanced Studies Sant’Anna of Pisa.

Director of the Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO) and Professor at the Vienna University of Economics and Business since October 2021. After working as an Associate Consultant with McKinsey & Co, Vienna from 2004 to 2005, he held various teaching positions from 2005 to 2009 at the University of Tübingen and at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart. From 2010 to 2019, he led the ifo Center for International Economics at the University of Munich. From 2019 to September 2021 he was President of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. His research and advisory activities focus on questions of economic global governance, European economic integration, and German economic policy. He has published a large number of papers in international scientific journals, in policy briefs, and newspapers. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the European University Institute in Florence, Italy.

Publisher and Editor-in-chief at Elaph. He started his career in journalism as junior sports correspondent for a Saudi newspaper. He quickly established a name for himself and became London correspondent for Al-Jazeera newspaper, Riyadh. He was also Editor in Chief of Al Majalla, London, and Asharq Al Awsat newspaper, London (the leading international Arabic language newspaper).  He set up Elaph Publishing Limited in the UK and its associated company in Saudi to publish www.elaph.com on the Internet, which quickly became the leading Arabic news portal. In 2021, Elaph signed an agreement with the Financial Times to produce the FT’s luxury magazine, How To Spend It, in Arabic, under licence. Othman Al-Omeir has interviewed exclusively many world leaders, and was awarded the New Media for the Future Prize by Anna Lindh Foundation in December 2009. 

Founding Partner of the Quattro Group and Partner of eONE Global Investments LLP (an advisory and investment outfit in Energy/Africa). His work experience started in 1995 with the World Bank Group in Washington DC where his last held position was Investment Officer in the IFC’s Oil and Gas Department. He joined The AES Corporation in 2001, the World’s largest independent power producer, working on business development and restructuring in the EMEA region. In 2006, he was appointed as the CEO of the Office National de l’Electricité. He is an electrical engineer by training, graduated from Ecole Centrale de Nantes and holds a post-Masters’ degree in economics from the French Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique.

World Bank’s Country Director for the Maghreb and Malta, Middle East and North Africa. She joined the World Bank in 1994 and has held a variety of positions focused on the restructuring of public enterprises, support to private sector development, regional integration, and management of the oil sector. Prior to her current position, she spent four years as Country Director for Nigeria, and previous to that held a number of other positions. She graduated of the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Nantes and Bowling Green University (Ohio, USA). She has also completed several management programs at Harvard University in the US. She worked for many international firms and was advisor to several governments before joining the World Bank.

Larbi Belabi was appointed by H.M. the King President and CEO of SOMACA in 2001. In 2008, he was appointed Advisor to the President of the EUROMED Africa region of the group. He participated as a member of the strategic committee and project implementation of Renault Tanger. He was President of the Moroccan Automobile Industry and Trade Association (AMICA) for 8 years. He is currently Chairman of the Academic Committee of Al Akhawayn Ifrane University, a member of the Board of Directors of École Centrale Paris in Casablanca and Vice President of the Moroccan Association of Economic Intelligence. He is a member of the EESC’s Committee on Economic Affairs and Strategic Projects. He is a member of two strategic think tanks in North America and Europe.

President of Al Akhawayn University. He had previously served at Al Akhawayn as Vice President for Academic Affairs, Interim Dean of the School of Business Administration, and Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. He is General Secretary of the Moroccan British Society, and former Secretary of the EuroMed Permanent University Forum. He holds a Ph.D in Linguistics and Education from the University of Texas at Austin, a Masters in Applied Linguistics and Language Teaching from the University of Wales, and a Bachelor of Arts from Mohamed V University.

General Manager of the National Highway Company of Morocco. He began his career as a Project Manager Engineer, then held several management positions at UNILEVER in Casablanca, London, Singapore, before being appointed Chief Financial Officer of Unilever Egypt. He has also held the position of General Manager of “Savola Morocco”.  In 2012, he returned to Morocco to assume the position of Chief of Staff of the Minister of Equipment, Transport and Logistics before being appointed in January 2014 General Manager of the National Highway Company of Morocco. He is an engineer from the Ecole Centrale de Paris and also graduated from Imperial College Business School in London where he prepared an MBA in Finance and Strategy.

Secretary of State for investment, Ministry of Industry, Investment, Trade and Digital Economy, Kingdom of Morocco. He began his career as an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers Paris, between 2003 and 2006. He subsequently, held the position of Director Special Advisor at Mena Media Consulting-Rabat between 2008 and 2016. He became Manager of Europa Conseil-Casablanca in July 2016. He has been President since January 2017 of clubgibraltar.org, a think tank dedicated to promoting the anchoring of the Maghreb in the European project. He also held the position of Secretary General of Sciences Po Alumni Morocco between 2012 and 2016. He holds a Master’s degree in journalism from the Paris Institute of Political Studies, an Executive Master’s from the National School of Administration, Post Graduate Course of European studies. He is also a graduate of the ESC Nantes-Atlantique business school (Audencia).

Member of the National Control Commission for the Protection of Personal Data. Lawyer by profession, he has served successively as advisor to the Secretary of State to the Prime Minister in charge of the Post and Information Technologies, and adviser to the Minister of Justice, in charge of international cooperation. As such, he participates in several international negotiations with the USA and the EU. Also, he is the author of specialized studies and legal articles, published in various law journals.

Historian and political scientist. She is a research professor of the University Mohamed V Institute of African Studies (IAS) where she served as director from 2003 to 2008. She is an active member of the pan-African Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), Dakar, which she served as vice-president then president from 2009 to 2015. She has been visiting scholar at a number of African, European and US universities and authored numerous books and studies on themes of Islamic reform in North and West Africa, African women in the transmission of Islamic learning, trans-Saharan slavery and Africa in the world. She graduated from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques (IEP) in Paris and the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

Director General of the Office of Vocational Training and Employment Promotion (OFPPT). She has been a member of OCP’s Industrial Development Department before being promoted to the head of the public company in 2014. In 2018, she was appointed by the King Mohammed VI as Secretary General of the OFPPT. She was officially installed at the head of the Office in August 2018. She graduated from the Mohammadia School of Engineers (EMI) in Rabat.

CEO of Global Nexus, a private equity fund dedicated to clean energy infrastructure in Morocco. Prior to that, she was the Head of Investment Strategy of Morocco’s Public Pension Fund, and a Director General of the Casablanca Stock Exchange. She went back to Morocco in 2004 after eight years at the World Bank in Washington to become the Economic Advisor to Morocco’s Prime Minister. She received her Ph.D. in Environment Engineering from Harvard, an MA from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and a Diploma of Engineering from Ecole Centrale Paris.

Secretary-General of the Rabita Muhammadia of ‘Ulamas. He heads committees within the US-Morocco Strategic Dialogue and Morocco’s Higher Council of Education, and is a member of Morocco’s National Human Rights Council and Economic, Social and Environmental Council. He served as the Director of Islamic Affairs in the Moroccan Ministry of Islamic Affairs.  He is a Distinguished Professor of Comparative History of Religions and Islamic Thought at Qadi Ayyad University, from which he received his PhD in Islamic studies. He taught at the University of Chicago and DePaul University, and authored many books and papers on Islamic thought and jurisprudence.

Regional manager for West and North Africa for EnergyNet. She currently works with governments across West and North Africa promoting investment into the energy, electricity, and infrastructure sectors with a clear focus on energy access and economic development in Africa through project implementation, climate finance, technology transfer, and capacity building. With an emphasis on North and West Africa development and regional cooperation, she has led high level investor’s summits promoting energy access around the world, most recently in Marrakech where she led the EnergyNet’s Africa Renewable Energy Forum (ARF), the officially labelled side event of COP22. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and international relations from the University of Rome, two master’s degrees, one in the history of Africa and one in political studies from the EHESS in Paris.

Marketing manager at Bridge Africa, a tech start-up that promotes African-generated content by enabling people to create professional websites for their business. Prior to this, she served as a business development assistant at FHI360 in Washington, DC. She also served as EducationUSA country coordinator at the U.S. Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon. She has been named a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and is founding curator of the Global Shaper’s Yaounde Hub. She is also a founding partner of New Frame Limited, a mobile app development startup that seeks to help businesses in Cameroon improve their brands. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Williams College.

Austrian Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs since December 2017. Since 1998 she has worked as an independent lecturer in the areas of international law, Middle Eastern history and the energy market at various universities. She is co-founder and vice president of Whistleblowing Austria as well as vice president of the Society for Politico-Strategic Studies, STRATEG. She plays an active role in numerous non-profit organisations in Austria and Lebanon. She speaks various foreign languages: Arabic, English, French, Hebrew, Italian, Hungarian and Spanish.

Economist and career diplomat. After having worked at the Banque Commerciale du Maroc in Milan, then at the Ministry of Foreign Trade, he was Director of Multilateral Cooperation and Director of European Affairs within the Moroccan diplomacy. In 2003, he was appointed by His Majesty the King of Morocco Ambassador to the EU, then to France. Fathallah Sijilmassi was appointed Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean. Fathallah Sijilmassi has received several decorations including Officer of the Legion of Honor. He holds a doctorate in International Economics from the University of Grenoble and is a graduate of Sciences Po Grenoble (France).

Prof. Georgy Toloraya holds the position of Executive Director of Russian National Committee on BRICS Research, a legal entity created under the auspices of Russian government for Track 2 activities. He is also Director of Program analysis at “Russkiy Mir” Presidential Foundation, dealing with programs in Asia and Africa. Prof. Toloraya is concurrently the Director of Asian Strategy Center at the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He is a professional diplomat (rank of Minister) with decades-long experience in Asian affairs, having served two postings in North Korea (1977-80 and 1984-87), then in South Korea as a Deputy chief of the Russian Embassy (1993-98) and later as the senior Russian Foreign Ministry official (Deputy director-general) in charge of the Korean Peninsula (1998-2003). He later worked as the Consul General of Russia in Sydney, Australia (2003-2007). Prior to that, he worked for trade promotion agencies related to Asia.

Former Prime Minister of Ethiopia. He previously served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs (2010-2012). He was appointed as Prime Minister and Chair of the ruling party EPRDF in September 2012. He also served as the Chairperson of the African Union from 2013 to 2014. Former Dean of the Water Technology Institute. He served in the Government in different positions including as the President  of the SNNPRS (Southern Nations and Nationalities and People’s Regional State) for five years; Chairman of SEPDM; Member of the House of People’s Representatives; Social Affairs and Civic Societies Mobilization & Participation Special Advisor to the PM; and Government Chief Whip, with a Ministerial portfolio.