Category: Invited guests

Former Personal Advisor to the High Representative and Vice President of the Commission EEAS. He has been a Professor at Sciences Po for over 20 years. He previously served as Special Advisor to Pascal Lamy, European Commissioner for Trade, and later as Strategic Advisor to the French Prime Minister from 2014 to 2017. Founder of the think tank Telos, he was Executive Director of the French think tank En Temps Réel. His fields of research are Europe as a global actor, trade and politics, and global politics. He is a prolific writer: he is the author of numerous books, academic papers, articles, comments in the press, etc. He was awarded the Légion d’honneur. He has a Ph.D. in International Relations from Sciences Po Paris.

Her Excellency Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri is the UAE Minister of State for Advanced Technology and Chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency. In her role as Minister of State for Advanced Technology, H.E. spearheads the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology’s efforts to empower the adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and promote research and development in the advanced science and technology sector, to create new industries that drive the shift towards a knowledge-based economy. This, in turn, contributes to the overall mandate of the Ministry to strengthen the UAE’s industrial base, ensure in-country value, and raise the competitiveness of local industries. As Chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency, H.E. is responsible to oversee the Agency’s mandate of pioneering the space sector, ensuring its contribution to the national economy and to the UAE’s sustainable development. Prior to her Ministerial role, H.E. was the Director of Research and Development at MBRSC, where she established the Centre’s Knowledge and Research Department and put in place product assurance and functionality systems. She was also involved in DubaiSat-1 and DubaiSat-2, and in the project development for KhalifaSat. H.E. Sarah Al Amiri holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering from the American University of Sharjah.

Prime Minister of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire since March 2021. He previously served as Secretary General of the Presidency and then Minister of State. He was also simultaneously Executive Secretary of the National Council for Economic Policy in charge of the 2030 Strategic Plan and the 5-year government program “Côte d’Ivoire Solidaire 2021-2025”. Prior to that, he served as Minister of Economic Infrastructure. Before joining the public service, acquired significant experience in the private sector both as an entrepreneur and consultant in strategy and management. He holds a master’s degree in physics from the University of Cocody in Côte d’Ivoire, an engineering degree from the École supérieure d’électricité (Supélec) and a master’s degree in management from Stanford University.

Primary care physician and senior fellow at the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research. She got her M.D from Sapporo Medical University and worked as a physician at St Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo for several years. She then got a scholarship from the World Bank and got her MPH at the Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health and PhD in public health at the University of Tokyo in 2021. From 2011-2013 and 2016, she worked at the international cooperation department, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan, where she was deeply involved in health policy activities in Japan. As part of the work, she participated in WHO meetings, G7 meetings, and bilateral cooperation activities through JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency). She’s also currently working as associate professor at the Tokyo Women’s Medical University, senior manager at the Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI). Her current research focuses on health system strengthening, health care financing, and politics in global health.

His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan has occupied the position of Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence since October 2017. H.E. Sheikh Nahayan joined the Federal Government in 1990 and held a number of portfolios including Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Minister of Education, and Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development. H.E. Sheikh Nahayan was also the Chancellor of United Arab Emirates University from 1983 to 2013; Chancellor of Higher Colleges of Technology from 1988 to 2013; and President of Zayed University from 1998 to 2013.

President and Founder of the Emirates Policy Center, which is one of the most important think tanks in the Arab World. 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 in 2015 as member of the Consultative Commission of the Cooperation Council of the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC). She was also chosen in 2018 in the list of 50 Most Influential Women in the Arab World. In 2019, Dr. Al Ketbi received the Women Super Achiever Award during the World Women Leadership Congress. In 2021, she was chosen as an advisor in the Global Commission for Post-Pandemic Policy.

Commentator of Nikkei. He regularly writes commentaries and columns, analysis mainly on foreign & international security affairs. He joined Nikkei in 1987 and worked at the Political News Dept. where he covered Japanese foreign & security policies and domestic politics. He was Senior & Editorial Staff Writer, and he also worked at “Leader Writing Team” of the Financial Times in London (Oct.-Dec. 17). Previously, he was Beijing Correspondent and Washington Chief Correspondent. In Beijing, he reported major news events such as the death of Deng Xiaoping and Hong Kong handover to China. In Washington DC, he covered the White House & Pentagon, State Department during the Bush administration.

Ambassador of Albania to France, and non-resident to Monaco and Portugal, Representative at the International Organization of La Francophonie. He worked for a long period of time for the European Union, notably at the European Commission and the European External Action Service, where he was in charge of political issues and European and regional developments. He chaired the ad hoc Committee on Accession and Changes to the Statute of La Francophonie and is a founding member of the Group of Francophone Ambassadors of France, of which he was elected Vice Chairman three times. He has been Chairman or member of steering committees of various international organs and programs in the field of development and democratization.

Isabelle Tsakok, development practitioner, policy analyst, researcher, and teacher, is a Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South. She grew up in the Republic of Mauritius, a multilingual, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society. She holds a PhD in Economics from Harvard University, and a BA in Philosophy/Economics from the London School of Economics. As World Bank staff and consultant, she has focused on agricultural and rural development including on issues of agricultural transformation, food security, and poverty reduction. She has worked in most regions of the developing world, including Africa – North and South of the Sahara; Asia – South, Southeast and East; and Latin America. She has taught courses on agricultural policies and institutions at the World Bank; the School of Agricultural and Rural Department, Renmin University of China; the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University; and the Université Polytechnique Mohamed VI, Morocco. Her publications address issues of methodology of partial equilibrium analysis for assessing agricultural policies and distortions; and of agricultural transformation from smallholder, subsistence to demand-driven commercial farming. Her latest book publication is Success in Agricultural Transformation: What it Means and What Makes it Happen (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2011).

Editor in Chief of The National newspaper, a daily English language regional newspaper based in Abu Dhabi. An Iraqi-British journalist, Mina has over 18 years of experience covering Middle Eastern, European and American affairs. She has conducted multiple high profile interviews including with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa AlKadhimi, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former President of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Previously, she was a Senior Fellow at the Institute for State Effectiveness (ISE) and a Yale World Fellow.

Minister of Climate Change and Environment of the UAE. In this capacity, she leads the Ministry’s mission of spearheading the UAE’s drive to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change, protect the country’s ecosystems, and enhance its food and water security through developing and implementing effective measures, policies, and initiatives. Prior to her current role, Her Excellency Mariam Almheiri was appointed as Minister of State for Food and Water Security. Her responsibilities included monitoring national food stocks and water supply, channeling investments in food and water technology innovation, and building international partnerships in this area. Previously, Her Excellency Mariam Almheiri held the post of Minister of State for Food Security, where she oversaw the development of the necessary infrastructure to achieve the country’s food security objectives in line with the UAE Centennial 2071.

EU official, Head of the Energy-Intensive Industries and Raw Materials Unit in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. Previously, he was Head of Policy Coordination for Energy Union, 2030 Climate and Energy Package, Low Emission Mobility Strategy and the Circular Economy at the Secretariat General. Past EU Trade Negotiator (steel, WTO market access and industrial tariffs). Former UK government official, he coordinated UK preparations for the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). Graduated in French and Politics from the University of Bristol. Studied at the École nationale d’administration (ENA).

Co-Founder and CEO of Royal Technologies Ltd., a Dubai-based insurtech company that intends to redefine the insurance industry in the Middle East. He is also the Representative of MEDEF International in the United Arab Emirates, the French business federation. Previously, he was the Managing Director for the Middle East of French insurance company Siaci Saint-Honoré. He also held various positions both in the private sector and the public administration: Managing Director of the Centre français des affaires de Téhéran, a business intelligence boutique advising French corporations on issues related to Iran, Head of Middle East at MEDEF and Economic Attaché at the French Embassy in Equatorial Guinea. Beginning on January 1, 2023, he will become a civil servant student at the Institut national du service public (INSP). He graduated from Sciences Po Bordeaux and the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Deputy Vice President Foreign Institutional Relations, TotalEnergies. Karen Andries joined the Public Affairs Department of TotalEnergies in September 2019. From 2015 to 2019 she was Deputy Director of Business Development in the Middle East, Asia and North Africa within Refining & Petrochemicals at TotalEnergies. Karen Andries joined the Marketing & Services department of PetroFina in 1997 in Brussels. She subsequently held several positions in the Gas, Renewables & Power and Exploration & Production divisions of TotalEnergies and in various countries such as Angola and Indonesia. Karen Andries graduated from the Catholic University of Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) and holds a Master’s degree in Management Engineering.

Head of the risks department at the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Regional Environment Directorate. His activities involve the control of industrial installations as well as the management of natural hazards. Before becoming a senior civil servant, he worked for the hedge fund Meridiam, the Guerbet pharmaceutical laboratory and the M13h marketing firm. He holds an engineering degree from the Corps des mines and a degree in mathematics from the École normale supérieure de Paris.

Internationally known Art Dealer, specializing in Islamic Art. Since its establishment in 1975, his London-based company, Ahuan Islamic Art, has organized major Islamic exhibitions. ‘The Unity of Islamic Art’ exhibition inaugurated the Islamic galleries of the King Faisal Foundation in Riyadh in 1985. Ahuan has supplied important Islamic works of art to numerous private collections, including the outstanding collection of the late Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Sabah and Sheikha Hussa al-Sabah in Kuwait. Ahuan has also provided important works of Islamic art to many major international museum collections, including the British Museum, the Louvre in Paris, the Museum of Islamic Art at the Pergamon Museum, Berlin, the C.L. David Collection, Copenhagen, the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, as well as notable museum collections in Islamic countries, such as the Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, and the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha. David Sulzberger was for three years an advisor to the ArRiyadh Development Authority (ADA) planning the Saudi Arabian National Museum in Riyadh. He continues to work closely with both private collectors and government agencies in the Arab and Islamic World.

Acceleration Manager within the Interministerial Digital Directorate, his role revolves around empowering state startups to increase their impact and scale their operations. Prior to joining the Prime Minister’s office, he had the opportunity to work for Jane Street, Google, the French railway group SNCF and the e-commerce giant Wayfair. He holds an engineering degree from corps des mines and Ecole polytechique, as well as a MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo, and Director of the Institute of Geoeconomics at International House of Japan. He graduated from the Department of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University, and received a Ph.D. from the Sussex European Institute. He has worked in the Fondation pour la recherche stratégique in Paris as assistant researcher. He was also Associate Professor at the University of Tsukuba from 2000 to 2008 and served as Professor of International Politics at Hokkaido University until 2020. He served as an expert in the Panel of Experts for the Iranian Sanction Committee under the United Nations Security Council from 2013 to 2015. He currently serves many advisory committees of the government of Japan, inter alia, the National Space Policy Committee of the Cabinet Office, the Government of Japan, and is the President of Japan Association of International Security and Trade. His research focuses on the conjunction of science/technology and international relations; subjects including economic security, space policy, sanctions, non-proliferation, and export control. His recent work includes Space and International Politics (2011), Policy Logics and Institutions of European Space Collaboration (2003), editing work includes Economic security and technological advantage (2023) in Japanese, and many others.

Attorney at Law, CEO of Echo for Peace Foundation and of Rased Lebanon (coalition of several NPO’s), member of Beirut Bar Association and International election Observer. She is a Founder and member of many NGOs and nonprofit associations. She is a Legal Consultant to many associations and civic organizations. She is also a journalist for Tele Lumiere and Noursat International TV, presenting social, political, and religious issues through talk shows. She conducted live interviews of well-known personalities in order to find solutions to national issues. She was delegated as “Lawyer and Journalist” to attend hearings in the Special Tribunal of Lebanon in The Hague, Netherlands (STL). She participated in several conferences and seminars in Lebanon and abroad, treating: Politic-Justice-Peace-Religion-Interfaith Dialogue-Globalization-Civil State, etc. She is a legal and social writer in many newspapers and reviews. She has a JD in Criminal Law from Lebanese University.

Basile Cotte is a high-ranking French official currently employed at the European Commission, within the DG COMP, with a particular focus on monitoring mergers and acquisitions within the basic industries, including the manufacturing and agricultural sectors. He is a graduate engineer from the “Applied Mathematics” program at the École Polytechnique, holding a master’s degree in Economic Policy Analysis from the Paris School of Economics. He also completed the Corps des Mines training program, which he joined in 2020. During his education, he had the opportunity to work for Morgan Stanley in London before joining Neoen in Paris, an independent renewable energy developer. His career has also been enriched by significant regulatory experience, as he had the opportunity to work for Euronext, the largest stock exchange in Europe, as well as for the DGCCRF (General Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs, and the Prevention of Fraud) in the field of digital and telecommunications regulation.

Elias Kassis is President of Total E&P UAE and TotalEnergies Country Chair in the United Arab Emirates, a position he has held since May 2021. Previously, he held the position of Vice President Energy Transition in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) division of TotalEnergies Exploration & Production. Before that, he served as Vice President North Africa in the MENA division, and Managing Director of the TotalEnergies E&P affiliates in Yemen, Malaysia and Iraq. Prior to that, he was Vice President in the TotalEnergies E&P Middle East division, and Vice President Venezuela in TotalEnergies E&P Americas Division. He fulfilled other assignments in Venezuela and Qatar. He began his career within TotalEnergies in 1991 and has held various positions in the Trading and Gas & Power divisions until 2002. Mr. Kassis holds an Engineering Master’s Degree from the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble and a Master’s Degree in Finance from ESSEC Business School.

Dr. Kim is Chief Executive Officer of the MiCo BioMed Co., Ltd., an innovative LabChip-technology based diagnostic company in Korea that generates various biochemical, immunological and molecular diagnostic products including COVID-19 detection kits and systems. He founded NanoBioSys Inc. in 2009 and invented a portable molecular diagnostic system to detect multiple infectious disease pathogens rapidly using an inexpensive disposable plastic microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip (LabChip). He has been working with international organizations such as the UN, WHO and Institute of Pasteur. He currently leads his colleagues to develop a more efficient portable easy-to-use tele-diagnostic system for rapid detection, monitoring and controlling animal/food-borne diseases as well as human diseases on site. He and his colleagues are moving towards an innovative U-healthcare system to provide a healthier environment for the world. He received Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at Columbia University and worked for Harvard Medical School as a research faculty over 13 years.

Professor of international economics at the Ecole nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (ENPC, France) and member of the French Cercle des Économistes. Between 2012 and 2022, he was President of the Global Development Network (GDN), a public international organization headquartered in New Delhi (India), which strengthens research capacity in developing countries in order to promote development policies informed by sound analysis and evidence. He is the former Chief Economist (2002-2012) and Executive Director of Strategy (2002-2010) of the French Development Agency (AFD) and a former Deputy Director of Ifri. He chaired ENPC’s Department of Economic and Social Sciences between 1994 and 2012. He is President of the Scientific Council of the FARM Foundation (Foundation for Agriculture and Rural Development in the World), member of the Scientific Committee of Crédit Agricole S.A., and Non-Resident Fellow of the Center for Global Development (CGD, Washington D.C.).

Civil servant within the French Corps des Mines, Eponine Loridant went to a binational French-German high school and studied at the French engineering school Ecole Polytechnique. As part of her education, she worked for a humanitarian organization in Ivory Coast and at the French embassy in Switzerland.

Dr. David Wurmser, is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Project on Global Anti-Semitism and the US-Israel Relationship at the Center for Security Policy, as well as being a Senior Fellow at the Kohelet Policy Forum. He also is the executive and founding member of the Delphi Global Analysis Group, LLC – a firm specializing in geopolitical risk analysis and mitigation for hydrocarbon, infrastructure, high-tech, defense and financial firms from the United States, Japan and India navigating in Israel and the Middle East – since its founding in 2007. From December 2018 until September 2019, Dr. Wurmser also served as Senior Advisor (Special Government Employee) to the US National Security Advisor, Ambassador John Bolton.

Manon Nguyen Van Mai is an Engineering student of the French Corps des mines. She graduated from the “Sciences for environmental challenges” track at École Polytechnique and is currently training to become a civil servant. She completed six months of military service on a surveillance frigate in the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. During her studies, she worked for the biotech startup Embleema and for the industrial groups Butagaz and EDF.

Non-Executive Director of Norge Mining. Ingvil Tybring-Gjedde brings an exceptional level of experience to Norge Mining’s Board as a Non-Executive Director. A representative of the Norwegian Progress Party (FrP) and the former Deputy Minister in the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, she will be a guiding light as the country explores its exciting economic next steps. Ingvil was also the Minister of Public Security in the Ministry of Justice and Public Security from January 2019 until January 2020. And she previously worked as a Senior Advisor in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in oil and gas management positions at Innovation Norway. Committees of the Board: Remuneration (Member) & ESG (Chair).

Co-founder of echOpen, a low-cost handheld ultrasound device connected to smartphones, he is a Public Health practitioner at Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, former assistant professor in Clinical Epidemiology and PhD in Mathematics. He is mainly involved in the interfaces between connected medicine and open technologies: ultrasound imaging, methodology for the development of Artificial Intelligence solutions. He was a pioneer in Blockchain applications for the quality of clinical trials.

CEO of Norge Mining. John Vergopoulos brings decisive, hands-on leadership to Norge Mining, as well as an international financial ‘black book’ and years of experience in the mineral resources sector. He has a strong fundraising track record in capital, private equity and syndicated loan markets. He has been an SME Board Director and a CEO and CFO for various publicly traded corporations in the tech and mineral resources industries. Over the years, John has been in charge of dealing with government institutions throughout Europe, Africa and Asia. He started out his career as a chartered accountant in Deloitte’s London Audit Department.