Tunisian Expert Represents Tunisia on the Global Stage
Another Tunisian expert is making a significant mark on the international scene. Ferid Belhaj, former Vice President of the World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), has recently joined the Middle East Institute (MEI), a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, as a Senior Fellow. This move allows him to continue his work in analyzing public policies and the region’s economic and geopolitical challenges, following a distinguished career in international institutions.
According to his MEI profile, Belhaj’s areas of expertise include economics, governance, institutional reforms, state capacity, and political and geopolitical developments in North Africa, the Levant, and the Gulf region.
Belhaj brings extensive, high-level experience to these issues. From 2018 to 2024, he served as the World Bank’s Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa, a role he assumed after serving as Chief of Staff to the President of the World Bank Group for 15 months.
Between 2012 and 2017, he led the institution’s operations in the Middle East, overseeing programs in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Iran. During this period, he notably steered the World Bank’s response to the impacts of the Syrian refugee crisis and contributed to establishing financing mechanisms for host countries accommodating displaced populations.
His career also includes missions focused on recovery and reconstruction in conflict-affected countries, including Iraq, Yemen, Libya, and Lebanon. From 2009 to 2012, he headed the World Bank’s Pacific Department, having previously served in representative roles at the United Nations in New York and in operational responsibilities in Morocco.
Before joining the World Bank, Ferid Belhaj worked at Tunisia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York and later served as Deputy Head of Mission at the Tunisian Embassy in the United States.
In addition to his affiliation with the Middle East Institute, he is a Principal Researcher at the Policy Center for the New South and an Associate Professor at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Morocco.
