Cercle des Economistes Arabes is an independent non-profit think tank that brings together leading economists to work on critical issues in the social and economic development of the Arab world. Recent conferences included: 

• Nov 8, 2023: Liban-Syrie, Destins économiques et perspectives, with the Lebanese citizen foundation.

• Nov 7, 2023:  The "Arab Spring" and the Perspectives of the South Mediterranean, the Bard College Berlin. 

• Nov 9, 2022: The Political Economy of the Financial Crisis in Lebanon and its Implication for Arab Countries, University of Bologna. 

• Dec 8, 2022: Labour Statistics, Informality, and Social Protection in the Arab Countries, Regional Policy Forum Building Universal Social Protection Systems in the Arab Region. 

• Nov 9, 2022: The Political Economy of the Financial Crisis in Lebanon and its Implication, American University Cairo

• Nov 18, 2021: The Normative Framework of Open Government and the Status of Arab States; Expert Group Meeting: Open Government and Digital Transformation for the New Urban Agenda in the Arab region, Cairo. 

• July 31, 2018: “The IMF and the Fragile States”, jointly with the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Arabic edition of Le Monde Diplomatique was founded in 2005 and eventually disappeared following the events of the "Arab Spring".  During its operations, over 800,000 printed issues were circulated in the Arab world, including Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.  

• Led economic studies and programs for various Arab countries. 

• Prepared a concept note for the Arab League Summit Conference on Social & Economic Development.

• Served as a Senior Advisor to the Chairman for establishing a new private bank in Syria.   

• Prepared an analysis of the economic and financial situation in Syria and Lebanon. 

• Served as an advisor to the President and as an Executive Manager of Contracting & Engineering Enterprises Group. 

• Led various projects in the Middle East.

• Served as a Negotiator for acquisition, then as a President and CEO.  FRAMASOFT was renamed as SYSTUS International. 

• Served as a Vice President for Industrial Strategy, and as a Director of the Products Development Department.  

• Worked on the development of the company’s Japanese market.

• Was in charge of the mechanical modleling and testing of the Superphenix nuclear power plant.

• Deposit of patent on the fluid elastic instability of a flexible weir. 

• SOFRATOME is a subsidiary  of CEA (Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique) and EDF (Electricité de France). 

• Served as a Project Engineer in charge of the feasibility studies of nuclear power plants. 

• Les Travailleurs Arabes Hors-La-Loi.  Editions L’Harmattan. 2011.  Link >

• Employment & Labor Laws in the Arab Mediterranean Countries and the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. Fundacion Paz y Solaridad. 2008.  Link >

• The Road Ahead for Syria, Syria Country Profile, Editor, FEMISE, Economic Research Forum. 2006.  Link >

• The Socio-Economic Challenges of Akkar-Lebanon and its interactions with its Surroundings; The Legal Agenda, to be published.

• Women's Economic Status in Syria; UN Women and Ugarit, to be published. 

• Assessment of the Economic, Social, and Governance Challenges in Syria Internally Displaced Population Camps; January 2023.  Link >

• The Political Economy of Lebanon financial and economic crisis; 2022. 

• The Economic and Social Impact of Open Government: Policy Recommendations for the Arab Countries; OECD & UN report, 2022.  Link >

• Developing Labour Statistics with a Focus on Informality and social protection in the Arab Region; ILO report, to be published 2022. 

• The Political Economy and its Social Ramifications in Three Syrian Cities: Tartous, Qamishli and Azaz; Cercle des Economistes Arabes, January 2021.  Link >

• The Unintended Consequences of the US and European Unilateral Measures on Syria’s Economy and its Small and Medium Enterprises; the Carter Center, 2020.  Link > 

• Local Needs Assessment (LNA) of the cities of Homs and Nawa, Syria; ESCWA & UN-Habitat studies, 2019-2020. 

• Urban Recovery Framework for Post-Conflict Housing in Syria. A first physical, social and economic approach; 2019.  Link >

• Rapid City Profiling & Monitoring System, Libya; The cities of Benghazi, Sirte, Sebha and Ubari, UN-Habitat Reports, 2018.  Link >

• Industrial Spatial Vision for Iraq;  UN-Habitat Report, LADP Program, 2018. 

• Municipal Finance & Improved Budget Execution in 5 urban cities; UN-Habitat Report, LADP Program, 2017-2018.  Link >

• Economic Assessment of Urban Issues for the Reconstruction of Syria; State of the Syrian cities 2016-2017 project funded by the EU.  Link >

• The innovation Landscape in the Arab countries, a critical review; UN-ESCWA study 2017.   Link >

• The informal employment in the Arab countries; ANND Arab Watch Report, 2017.  Link >

• The EU and energy in the Arab countries; CEE Bankwatch and ANND study; November 2015.  Link >

• Labor Markets Policies & Institutions, with a Focus on Inclusion, Equal Opportunity and the Infomal Economy: the Case of Syria; ILO study, July 2009.  Link >

• Labor Market Performance and Migration Flows in Syria: European University Institute/EU study, presented at Montecattini conference, March 26-27, 2009.  Link >

• Towards the Reinforcement of the Role of Capital & Investment in Arab Social & Economic Integration; Economic Research Forum paper presented to the Arab Summit in Kuwait, January 2008 (in Arabic).

• EU Banking Sector Support Programme Report; Syrian Ministry of Finance, Central bank and EU; July 2006.

• Analyzing ICT Policies & Strategies in the ESCWA Region; ESCWA Report May 2006.

• The Syrian ICT Sector Strategy 2004-2103; Syrian Ministry of Telecommunications and UNDP; February 2004.

• The earthquake in Syria: A crisis of nature and politics; Atlantic Council, March 17, 2023.   Link >

• Labour Statistics, Informality and Social Protection in the Arab Countries; at the Regional Policy Forum Building Universal Social Protection Systems in the Arab Region, December 8, 2022.

• The Political Economy of Syria’s Physical Fragmentation and Dependence; GCSP, August 2021.  Link >

• The present context and reality of Syrian women; invited lecture by EuroMed Feminist Initiative, March 9, 2020

• Reconstruction as a political-economy issue: The case of Syria ; The Cairo Review of Global Affairs, September 2019.   Link >

• Informality and prospects of economic consolidation in Syria; invited lecture in the workshop on “The Politics and Modalities of Economic Reconstruction in Syria”, Geneva, February 7-8, 2019.

• Foreign debts, reforms and the change of the social pact in the Arab World; keynote lecture at the workshop “The Making of the Washington Consensus in the Middle East and North Africa. Negotiating international assets, debts and power (1979-91)”, University of Bologna, Italy, October 10, 2018. 

• Inequalities in the Arab World: Move from Rent to Tax; ID4D, February 7, 2018.  Link >

• Innovation & Technology in Arab SMEs for achieving the 2030 agenda for sustainable development; invited lecture at Expert Group Meeting on Innovation and Technology for Achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, December 5-7, 2017.   Link >

• A gender and Informal Employment perspective on IMF policies in the Arab Countries; IMF/WB Annual meeting Civil Society Policy Forum, Washington DC, October 11, 2017.  Link >

• The Informal Employment in the Arab Countries, Statistics and Challenges; invited lecture at the 12th meeting of the expert group on Informal Sector Statistics (Delhi Group); ILO, Geneva, October 2 and 3, 2017.  Link >

• Trade without Religion between Turkey and Syria; IFRI Editorial, March 24, 2017.  Link >

• Issues and traps in labor statistics in the Arab World with a special focus on informal labor; Arab Trade Union Confederation, 2017.   Link >

• The Syrian Women during recovery from war and reconstruction. Existential challenges; invited lecture by EFI, July 15, 2016.   Link >

• Syrie, une guerre confessionnelle sans confessions ; Orient XXI, May 25, 2016.   Link >

• The Syrian Migration Crisis: Shaping a Development Post Conflict Model; IMF/WB Group Spring Meeting Civil Society Policy Forum; April 2016.  Link >

• Syria: Aspirations and Fragmentations; in “Arab Spring: Negotiating in the shadow of the Intifadat”, edited by I. William Zartman, 2015, University of Georgia Press.  Link >

• Post-Arab Spring : Sustainable development via a nexus approach ; September 8, 2015, ID4D.

• The economic futures invented by Arab countries and the Middle East; in “Planet for Life”, 2015, Agence Française pour le Développement, Armand Collin.  Link >

• Penser Alep autrement; in « Alep et ses Territoires », Presses de l’Ifpo, Institut français du Proche-Orient, 2014.  Link 1 >   Link 2 >

• Variables et enjeux économiques du soulèvement; in “Pas de printemps pour la Syrie", La Découverte, 2013.   Link >

• Vers un alliance de l’Occcident et des pays du Golfe pour imposer un nouvel ordre régional? L’ENA hors les murs, n°414, Septembre 2011.  Link >

• Follow the Money; Le Monde diplomatique English Edition, April 2011. Link >

• Financing ICT Sector Investments in Times of Global Crisis; Investing in Telecommunication Infrastructure in the Region: Policies & Strategies Dilemma; Digital Arabic Content: a Wishful Ideological Thinking or a Business Opportunity?; invited lectures in ESCWA workshop on Investment in the ICT Sector; Cairo, May 5-7, 2009.

• Capital et Travail dans le Monde Arabe; Invited Course at the Institut des Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po; Paris) ; May 29, 2009. 

• Sovereign Wealth Funds: an Instrument Marked by Its Birth Conditions; in Managing Arab Sovereign Wealth Funds in Turbulent Times and beyond; Carnegie Paper no 16; April 2009.  Link >

• Comment la Crise a-t-elle Impacté le Monde Arabe : la Fin des Chimères des « Dubai Boys » ; L’ENA hors les murs ; March 2009.  Link >

• The Political Economy of the Banking Sector in Syria, Invited lecture, conference on reforms in Syria, Saint Andrews, UK, April 2008.  Link >

• L’Economie de la Syrie peut-elle devenir sociale ?!, in « la Syrie au Présent », Actes Sud, 2007.   Link >

• Reform, State and Politics in Syria, in “the Changing Role of the State”, S. Radwan and M. Riesco Eds, ERF book, Egypt, 2007.

• Syria: a History of Troubles & Constructions, in Italian in the collective book « Siria: Dalle Antiche Citta-Stato alla Primavera Interrota di Damasco", Jaca Book, Milano, 2006.  Link >

• Syria, between Storms and Reforms, Invited lecture at the Department of Political Sciences at Yale University, USA, November 2005. 

• I HAVE A DREAM; in Syria; Oxford Business Group 2004 (English) and Al Hayat, October 13, 2004 (Arabic).

• Globalization, Economic Impact and Democracy in the Arab World, presented to the “Mediterranean Dialogue Program” Conference, Beirut 11-12 May 2002.

• Syrian Banking & Financial Sectors, presented at the Conference on “Syria: A New dawn of Business, Trade & Investment”, London,  July 3-4 2001