Mehmet Fatih Kacır is a Turkish politician and entrepreneur who has been serving as the Minister of Industry and Technology since 3 June 2023. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the Cansagligi Foundation and the Turkish Technology Team Foundation.
Prior to his current role, he was the Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology from 31 July 2018, where he oversaw the National Technology Initiative and the strategic transformation policies of the Ministry. In this capacity, he coordinated efforts across the General Directorate of National Technology, the General Directorate of Strategic Research and Efficiency, TUBITAK, the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office, the Turkish Academy of Sciences, and the Turkish Space Agency.
Mr. Kacır has been actively involved in non-governmental organizations. Until 2018, he served as the Chairman of the Board of Executives at the Türkiye Technology Team (T3) Foundation, which he co-founded. He was instrumental in establishing the DENEYAP Technology Workshops, the Future Technology Stars Program for children with special skills, as well as the Science Center and Enterprise Center programs. He also played a key role in TEKNOFEST, the world's largest aviation, space, and technology festival. In 2018, he was appointed to the TUBITAK Science Board and served on the Board of Directors of ASELSAN from 2019 to 2023.
As an entrepreneur, Mr. Kacır has developed utility models and industrial designs at various companies where he held the positions of founder and manager. He is one of the founding members of the Türkiye Technology Team Foundation.
Mr. Kacır earned his bachelor's degree with honors in Industrial Engineering from Boğaziçi University in 2008.
Dr. Abbas Kadhom AlFatlawi, a career diplomat, joined to the Iraqi MOFA in 1995, he studied in Foreign Service Institute 1995-1996. assumed his position as Iraq’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in August 2023.
Prior to his current position, he served as a director of the Organizations and International Conferences Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2021 - 2023. Previously, he served as the Acting Head of the Permanent Mission of Iraq to the United Nations Office in Geneva in 2020. 2020 Member of the Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Council. From 2015 – 2019, he served as the Deputy Permanent Representative at the Permanent Mission of Iraq to the United Nations Office in Geneva. From 2013 -2015, he served as the Deputy Director of the International Organizations and Conferences Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 2002 -2003 he worked in Iraqi embassy in Nairobi -Kenya and Iraq permanent missions to the UNEP, Habitat. From 2003- 2006 he served in Iraqi embassy in Moscow - Russia. From 2006 - 2008 he was head of disarmament section in MOFA -Iraq. Dr. AlFatlawi is a recipient of a high diploma of the New Issues in Security Course (NISC) at the Geneva Center for Security Policy (GCSP).
He received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. on International Relations and International arrangements from Baghdad University. He joined the United Nations Fellowship for Disarmament in 2000.
Born 1965, in Baghdad - Iraq, married
Edith Kagwera is an independent expert in Trade Policies and Trade Laws, Food Systems and Value Chains development. She has worked for various organisations including public, private and international organisations on economic and food system development related aspects, and among many, she worked for UNECA along the development of a report on Climate- resilient, Green Value Chains in East Africa, worked for UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAORW) under the Integrated Country Approach (ICA) Program which focused on youth integration across agriculture value chains, and also served as a Market Development Advisor at SNV Rwanda (Netherlands Development Organization).
Edith is an economist by profession and holds a master’s degree in international Trade Policy and Trade Law from Lund University(Sweden) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics from the University of Rwanda.
Lars Kahnert is an advisor on digitalization within the GIZ Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains Initiative (SASI). In this role, he is steering the multi-stakeholder ‘Digital Integration of Agricultural Supply Chains Alliance’ (DIASCA), fostering Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in agriculture. Earlier, he initiated the development of the open source traceability solution INATrace. Prior to joining GIZ in early 2019, Lars worked with the Global Coffee Platform and its predecessor, the 4C Association for 12 years. Here, he has led projects to establish data standards for sustainability metrics on coffee and cotton. Other topics include carbon footprinting, pesticide management, access to finance, and sustainability standards. Prior to entering coffee, Lars worked in various positions in international development in South Asia, Africa and Germany for seven years, mainly in the areas of vocational trainings, business development, community health, and emergency aid. He holds a degree in Geography with a focus on sustainable agricultural development and Indian Philology from Freie Universität Berlin
Julien Paluku Kahongya is a Congolese politician, currently serving as Minister of International Trade of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a position he has held since May 2024.
Prior to his current position, he served as Minister of Industry from 2019 to 2024, during which time he promoted the country's industrial revival through ambitious policies such as the creation of Special Economic Zones.
From 2007 to 2018, he led the province of North Kivu as governor, in a particularly complex context marked by security and economic challenges. He also served in the National Assembly in 2011, 2018 and 2023, and in the Provincial Assembly from 2006 onwards.
His career began in local government: he was administrator of the Lubero territory, then successively mayor of the cities of Butembo and Beni between 2003 and 2006.
Julien Paluku holds a Master's degree in Political and Administrative Sciences from the University of Kinshasa. He also holds a Bachelor's degree in Health and Community Development from the Free University of the Great Lakes, a background that reflects his commitment to human and institutional development.
The Hon. Narayan Kaji Shrestha “Prakash” was appointed as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs on 6 March 2024.
Prior to this, he served as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs from 30 March 2023 to 5 March 2024, preceded by a brief stint as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport from 26 December 2022 to 30 March 2023.
Mr. Shrestha’s earlier leadership of Foreign Ministry include the periods as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs from September 2011 to February 2012 and May 2012 to March 2013.
Mr. Shrestha holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Tribhuvan University and has authored books and articles on Marxism and Nepali Revolution, theoretical Marxism, history of world communism, and contemporary politics.
Annina Kaltenbrunner is a Professor of Global Economics and the International Economy at Leeds University Business School. Her research focuses on financial processes and relations in emerging capitalist economies. She has published on financial integration, currency internationalisation and macroeconomic policy.