Highlights

OPENING 

BLANCA MORENO-DODSON

Blanca Moreno-Dodson is the Manager of the Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI), a partnership between the World Bank and several national, regional, and local authorities from around the Mediterranean, as well as international financial institutions and civil society.

She has over twenty-eight years of experience as a World Bank development economist, including several positions as Lead Economist, mainly for the Global Tax Team, the West Africa Region, the Investment Climate Department, and the Office of the Vice-President for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management. As a Senior Economist, she previously worked at the World Bank Institute, the West Africa Region, and the Corporate Strategy Group of the World Bank. Her regional experience includes the Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, and East Asia (China, India, and Indonesia).  She started her career as a Robert Shuman scholar at the European Parliament and as a junior economist at the European Commission, before joining the World Bank Group.

Moreno-Dodson authored and co-authored five books throughout her career including “Enhancing Mediterranean Integration” (CMI, 2020), “Winning the Tax Wars, Tax Competition, and Cooperation” (Wolters Kluwer, 2017), “Is Fiscal Policy the Answer? A Developing Country Perspective” (World Bank, 2013), “Public Finance for Poverty Reduction.  Case Studies for Africa and Latin America” (World Bank, 2006) and “Scaling Up Poverty Reduction” (World Bank, 2005). She has also been published in several internationally renowned economic journals, such as the Bulletin of Economic Research, Hacienda Pública Española, the USA National Tax Association Journal, and Banca d'Italia Annual Volumes.

She is a member of the Alumni Strategic Council of the Aix-Marseille University, France, and of the Steering Committee of the Navarra Center for International Development, Spain, and a guest lecturer at Duke University, the USA, and Aix-Marseille University, France.

Moreno-Dodson holds a Ph.D. as well as a Masters (Diplome D’Etudes Approfondies) in International Economics and Finance from the University of Aix-Marseille, France, in addition to a Masters (Licenciatura) in Economics from the University Autonomous of Madrid, Spain. Originally from Zaragoza, Spain, she is fluent in Spanish, French, English, and Portuguese.

DISCUSSANTS

LILIA HACHEM NAAS

LILIA HACHEM NAAS. A Tunisian national, Ms. Lilia Hachem Naas has worked for the United Nations for more than 20 years. She is currently Chief of Office for the Middle East and North Africa (OMENA) at the International Trade Centre in Geneva. In her role, Ms. Naas was able to strengthen the strategic position of ITC in the Arab region through deepening collaboration with key institutions at national and regional levels, including activating new partnerships with development partners and the donor community. From Oct. 2017 to Dec 2019, Ms. Naas was Director of the sub-regional Office for North Africa of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).  During her tenure, Ms. Naas strengthened the relationship and the visibility of the Office in the seven-member states the Office is servicing. In particular, the Office launched new programs on macroeconomic policy, supported the ratification and implementation of AfCFTA, and conducted an assessment of SDGs implementation. She also led the development of the area of specialization on “employment, skills and sustainable development”. She also held the position of Head of the Local Development Program of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) where she was responsible for strategic development and building the capacity of local authorities in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Ms. Hachem Naas has extensive experience in coordinating complex technical assistance programs, focusing particularly on strengthening the international competitiveness of SMEs,  building a conducive business environment, enhancing regional integration and south-south cooperation as well as strengthening women's economic empowerment and employability of young people. A graduate of the University of Maryland, she has an MBA in International Business Management and a Masters in Management Information System Management. Ms. Hachem Naas speaks Arabic, English, and French.

BERNARD HOEKMAN is Professor and Director, Global Economics at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute in Florence, Italy. Prior positions include Director of the International Trade Department and Research Manager in the Development Research Group of the World Bank. He has been an economist in the GATT Secretariat and held visiting positions at SciencesPo, Paris. A graduate of the Erasmus University Rotterdam, he obtained his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan. He is a CEPR Research Fellow, where he also co-directs the Trade Policy Research Network; a Senior Associate of the Economic Research Forum for the Arab countries, Turkey and Iran; and a member of the World Economic Forum Global Action Council on Logistics and Supply Chains. Recent publications include: Supply Chains, Mega-Regionals, and Multilateralism: A Road Map for the WTO (London: CEPR Press, 2014); Structural Issues at the WTO (with Joe Francois), a special symposium issue of the World Trade Review (January 2015); and The Global Trade Slowdown: A New Normal? (London: CEPR Press, 2015).

LEILA BAGHDADI

LEILA BAGHDADI is Professor of Economics at ESSECT, University of Tunis, where she holds the World Trade Organization Chair. She is an executive board member of the Central Bank of Tunisia since August 2019. She was appointed as a member of the Tunisian Council of Economic Analysis reporting to the Chief of Government from November 2017 to February 2021. Leila serves on numerous boards and committees. These include among others the Consultative Scientific Council of the Tunisian Institute of Competitiveness and Quantitative Studies, the Advisory Board member of the Economic Research Forum, and a member of the Associate Committee of EMNES. She is an Associate Editor of the Middle East Development Journal. Her research interests include international trade, firms and entrepreneurship, and migration. Leila received her Ph.D. from University Paris 1, Pantheon Sorbonne in 2008. In 2006, she was a WTO Ph.D. fellow. She joined the University of Rome Tor Vergata as a Marie Curie Researcher in September 2007.

EMMANUEL NOUTARY

EMMANUEL NOUTARY is General Delegate of ANIMA Investment Network, a platform for the economic cooperation between Europe, the Middle East, and Africa which develops investment and business ecosystems favoring an attractive, sustainable, and inclusive economy. M. Noutary has more than 25 years of experience, 17 of which with international businesses. He is specialized in enterprise development, promotion of sustainable investments, innovation, and start-ups, digital as well as European policies and financing. His geographical expertise focuses on the Middle East and African markets. Through ANIMA, he leads the EU-funded TheNextSociety initiative, an open community of change makers engaged in innovation and economic development. Past positions include being Vice President of the MENA Business Angel Network (MBAN), a leading initiative to build an international network of business angels investing in the MENA markets. He was also project director of Business France between 2006-2010.

PATRICIA AUGIER

PATRICIA AUGIER is a full professor at Aix-Marseille University (AMU) and Aix-Marseille School of Economics (AMSE). Her fields of research are: trade (rules of origin, non-tariff measures, global value chains), microeconomic issues that concern development (women's empowerment, enterprises), and more general issues that concern obstacles to private sector development. Her works have focused mainly on North African countries. In addition to her position as professor, she was also the scientific coordinator of FEMISE (Euro-Mediterranean Forum of Economic Institutes) which is a network of research institutes in the North and South of the Mediterranean, from September 2015 to June 2020. 

Moderator

DR. CONSTANTIN TSAKAS 

Dr. Constantin Tsakas joined the CMI in 2020 as Senior Policy Analyst / Fundraising Consultant. He contributes to the Center’s fundraising & partnerships strategy. In addition, he produces policy-relevant research feeding into the CMI’s knowledge creation component. Prior to joining the World Bank, he was the General Manager of Institut de la Méditerranée working for the emergence of sustainable models of development and for greater involvement of civil society in public policies. As General Secretary of the FEMISE think-tank network (2014-2020) he also worked on the reinforcement of dialogue and research on economic and social issues in the EuroMediterranean region. As a lecturer at SciencesPo (2013-2020), Dr. Tsakas taught at the campus of Menton on « Openness, Growth, and Crisis in the South Mediterranean countries ». His thematic interests and publications include issues related to Innovation, Social Entrepreneurship, Education, Women Empowerment, Climate Change, and Trade Integration. He holds a Ph.D. in International Economics from Aix-Marseille University (France).