The war with Iran has severely disrupted the global economy, from scrambling energy markets, shipping routes, and investment flows, to obstructing long-established trade links. The reverberations have spread around the world but, naturally, are acutely felt closest to the conflict, across the Middle East and North Africa. Which regional economies are at most risk from the war’s deleterious effects? How are governments fiscally adapting in this unstable security climate? And what actions may be the best path forward for the region to rebound?
Join the Middle East Institute for a panel discussion on these issues and more with Merissa Khurma, founder of Amena Strategies; Ferid Belhaj, MEI Senior Fellow and former World Bank vice president for the Middle East and North Africa; and Dr. Karen Young, MEI Senior Fellow. The conversation will be moderated by Valentina Pasquali, Senior Editor for Arabian Gulf Business Insight (AGBI).
Speaker Biographies
Karen E. Young is a Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute (MEI), where she leads the Economics and Energy Initiative. She is also a senior research scholar at the Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy. A political economist, her work focuses on the Gulf and broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with particular attention to the intersection of energy, finance, and security.
Ferid Belhaj is a Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute, Policy Center for the New South, and Adjunct Professor at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University. Previously, he was vice president for the Middle East and North Africa at the World Bank from 2018 to 2024. Prior to this, Belhaj served 15 months as chief of staff of the president of the World Bank Group.
Merissa Khurma is the Founder and CEO of Amena Strategies, a Non-Resident Fellow at the Baker Institute at Rice University and an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Institute. She served as programme director of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center from 2018 until 2025 and has leadership experience in strategy building and strategic communications.
Valentina Pasquali (Moderator) covers US policy and its impact on Gulf economies, in sectors including technology, energy, real estate and mining. She also writes about trade and investment ties between the Americas and the Middle East. She was previously with AGBI in Dubai, covering the GCC property, construction and hospitality markets. Over the course of her career, Valentina has reported from more than a dozen countries, contributing to many media outlets, including Foreign Policy, the Washington Post and NPR.org
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