Panel dialogue: Reshaping foreign direct investment and global value chains for development

Kalthoum Ben Rejeb has serverd as Minister of Trade and Export Development in the Government of Tunisia since 2023.  She was previusly Tax Ombudsman within the Ministry of Finance.

She joined the General Directorate of Tax Control as a Public Services Adviser, where she rose through the ranks to become Director General.

She holds a master's degree in public law from the Faculty of Law in Sousse (1991), and is a graduate of Ecole Nationale d'Administration.

Mr. Sahib Mammadov is currently serving as the Deputy Minister of Economy in the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Previously, he held the position of  head of the State Service for Antimonopoly and Control over the Consumer Market.

Since 2009  he worked as the head of the Department of Regional Development and State Programs of the Ministry of Economic Development. In 2004-2007 he worked in the Ministry of Economic Development as a senior consultant, sector manager, deputy head of department and head of the Sustainable Development and Regional Policy Department.  In 2003-2004 he worked as an information officer at the Information and Technical Support Office of the European Commission in Azerbaijan, "Europe House", and at the Azerbaijan representation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

In 2002 Mr. Mammadov worked as an expert in the Azerbaijan representation of the UN International Organization for Migration on migration issues and in the European Union TACIS project in Azerbaijan on the implementation of the partnership and cooperation agreement between the European Union and Azerbaijan.

Mr. Mammadov started his career in 2001 as an expert assistant on the European Union TACIS project at the European Consultants Organization (ECO) in the Kingdom of Belgium.

In 2022 graduated from the Harvard Business School's "Economics for Managers" Certificate Program Harvard.

In 2008 graduated from the Azerbaijan State University of Economics, majoring in finance and credit. In 2001-2007 successfully finished the courses on the Fundamentals of UN Program and Project Management (Azerbaijan), Asian Development Bank Investments (Laos), UNIDO's "Food Packaging and Sustainability Tracking" (Turkey), "Supporting Regional Economic Development" within the European Union Establishment Project (Ireland).

Mr. Sahib Mammadov holds a bachelor's degree (2000)  and a master's degree (2001) in international law from the Kyiv State University.

Nuno Sampaio was appointed Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation for the Government of Portugal on 5 April 2024. 

Previously he served as Political Advisor to the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and was Advisor for Parliamentary Affairs to the former President, Anibal Cavaco Silva. 

He was also Assistant Professor, Integrated Researcher, Head of International Programs and Vice-president of the Strategic Council at the Institute for Political Studies of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Lisbon. 

Mr. Sampaio holds a PhD and Master’s in Political Science and International Relations; undergraduate degree in International Relations.

Dr. Al Zarooni  is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of the World Free Zones Organization, a multilateral organization which acts as an association for all free zones in the world. He is also the Secretary-General of the Dubai Free Zone Council.

With over 25 years of experience leading and developing free economic zones, H.E. Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni is considered one of the world's top free zone influencing leaders.

In 2021, H.E. Dr. Al Zarooni was appointed as Executive Chairman of Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ), holding three of Dubai's pioneering Free Zones, Dubai Airport Freezone, Dubai Silicon Oasis, and Dubai CommerCity.

In 2014, H.E. Dr. Al Zarooni was instrumental in conceptualizing and establishing the non-profit World Free Zones Organization.

In 2002, the Dubai Government appointed him as Vice Chairman and CEO of the Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA), one of the region's most advanced and successful technology hubs. He continues to lead Dubai Airport Freezone and Dubai Silicon Oasis concurrently.

In 2000, H.E. Dr. Al Zarooni was appointed as Director-General of the Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (DAFZA), which, through his visionary leadership, quickly grew to become one of the top-performing free zones in the world.

H.E. Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni graduated with a Ph.D. Degree from the University of Durham in the U.K.

Tatiana Molcean was appointed Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of UNECE on 1 September 2023. 

Prior to her appointment, Ms. Molcean was the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Moldova to the United Nations Office, World Trade Organization and other international organizations in Geneva (since 2020).  

Ms. Molcean served as State Secretary and Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Bilateral Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration (2017-2020), Deputy Director General for European Integration and Head of the Division for Economic and Sector Cooperation with the European Union (2012-2017) and Head of the Division for Economic Cooperation and Sectorial Coordination at the General Directorate for European Integration (2004-2008).  A career diplomat, she has also served as Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova to Sweden (2008-2011).    

Ms. Molcean holds a LLM Degree in Law from the Faculty of International Law at Moldova State University and completed the Multilateral Diplomacy Program from the Graduate Institute of Geneva, Switzerland.