The 1st Annual Workshop on the Economies of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

MENA’s economies command abundant human and natural resources, account for a large share of the world’s energy exports, and vary substantially in political stability and living standards. COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine have worsened the global economic environment with the MENA economies facing volatile food and energy prices, a global slowdown, and tightening of financial conditions. The region’s ability to navigate these economic challenges vary between the region’s energy exporting and energy importing states.

Against this backdrop, this workshop attempts to understand how MENA economies have navigated recent challenges. In doing so, this workshop seeks to bring together recent and cutting-edge scholarship on the economies of MENA, prizing multidisciplinary research on studying the economies of the region including emerging economic challenges and opportunities. It aims to discuss how international actors, including Australia, engage with these trends.

Speakers Include

• Dr Khalid Abu-Ismail, Senior Economist at United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia

• Professor M. Ishaq Bhatti, SP Jain School of Global Management & La Trobe University

• Dr Alaa Alaabed, General Manager, Wethaq Capital Platform

• Mr Asad Ansari, Director, Amanah Islamic Finance

• Mr Dean Gillespie, CEO, Islamic Bank Australia

• Associate Professor Nicolas Hamelin, S P Jain School of Global Management

• Mr Kevin Magee, Former Australian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia

• Professor Mohamed Ariff Syed Mohamed, Jeffrey Cheah Institute & Sunway University

• Associate Professor Roberto Nisticò, University of Naples Federico II

• Professor Hussain Mohi-ud-Din Qadri, Minhaj University Lahore

• Dr MHA. Ridhwan, Principal Economist, Bank Indonesia Institute