Economist by profession, Raj MOHABEER holds, since 2000, the post of Officer in Charge at the General Secretariat of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) – an intergovernmental Organisation of the South-West Indian Ocean Island States. Prior to this period, he was working as Economist at the then Ministry of Economic Planning and Development of the Republic of Mauritius. His current portfolio includes economic cooperation, trade, regional integration and infrastructure, maritime security and blue economy – areas of interventions which spans to countries beyond IOC Member States and region. He also deals with Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) and Small Economies (SE) issues and has been working with the Pacific and Caribbean regions since he joined the IOC. In this regard, he has been involved in the work related to the SIDS, including the preparations and organisation of the United Nations International Conference on SIDS organised in Mauritius in 2005 and Samoa, as well as the one to be held in Antigua and Barbuda.
H.E. Moustoifa Hassani Mohamed currently serves as Minister of Economy, Industry, Investment and Economic Integration of the Union of the Comoros, with responsibility for trade, industry, investment policy and regional economic integration.
He began his career in customs administration after graduating from the Senegal Customs School in 1992. Between 1995 and 2017, he worked with the inspection company Cotecna, including a posting in Iraq from 1999 to 2001 as an expert for the United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme. Upon his return to the Comoros, he was appointed Head of the Customs Office in 2017 and later Director General of Customs in 2021, where he led institutional reforms to modernize the administration and represented the country in international customs and trade forums.
Since joining the Government in 2024, Minister Hassani Mohamed has been a strong advocate for economic transformation, customs modernization and digital trade integration. He has represented the Comoros at high-level events, including the WTO Public Forum, the World Economic Forum and Investopia, where he has presented the country’s investment and trade strategies under the Emerging Comoros 2030 Plan.
He possesses extensive expertise in customs modernization and regional economic integration, particularly within the frameworks of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and Economic Partnership Agreements with the European Union. He is recognized for his leadership in advancing regulatory reform and promoting the digital transformation of trade systems. His technical knowledge, institutional experience and active engagement in international policy dialogues make him a prominent voice in global discussions on trade facilitation and inclusive economic development, especially for developing and small island economies.
Ms. Amina J. Mohammed is the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group.
Prior to her appointment, Ms. Mohammed served as Minister of Environment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria where she steered the country’s efforts on climate action and efforts to protect the natural environment.
Ms. Mohammed first joined the United Nations in 2012 as Special Adviser to former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with the responsibility for post-2015 development planning. She led the process that resulted in global agreement around the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the creation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Ms. Mohammed began her career working on the design of schools and clinics in Nigeria. She served as an advocate focused on increasing access to education and other social services, before moving into the public sector, where she rose to the position of adviser to four successive Presidents on poverty, public sector reform, and sustainable development.
Ms. Mohammed has been conferred several honorary doctorates and has served as an adjunct professor, lecturing on international development. The recipient of various global awards, Ms. Mohammed has served on numerous international advisory boards and panels.
H.E. Dr. Ahmad bin Mohammed Al-Sayed was appointed Minister of State for Foreign Trade Affairs in November 2024.
H.E. brings extensive experience in the fields of investment, economics, and business. He was first appointed Minister of State in May 2013 and has held various positions across local and international institutions. Between 2017 and February 2024, he served as the Chairman of the inaugural Board of Directors for the Free Zones Authority and as its Managing Director, overseeing the establishment of free zones in Qatar, contributing to attracting major global companies seeking regional and international expansion. He also chaired the Doha Fund for Development (SME) and was a board member of the Investment Promotion Agency and Qatar Development Bank.
Previously, H.E. served as the CEO of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Qatar Holding, where he played a pivotal role in establishing QIA and expanding local and international investment portfolios of QIA and Qatar Holding. He has held leadership positions in numerous institutions at both local and international levels, including serving as General Counsel and Secretary of The Supreme Council for Economic Affairs and Investment. He was also a member of The Supreme Council for Economic Affairs and Investment and served on the boards of various local and international companies, such as Qatar National Bank, the Canary Wharf Group in the UK, Volkswagen Group in Germany, and the Arab International Bank in Cairo. Additionally, he was the Vice Chairman of the Qatar Stock Exchange and the Executive Chairman of Harrods LHD in the UK.
H.E. Dr. Al-Sayed earned a PhD from the University of Oxford in the UK, an MBA from the TRIUM Global Executive MBA program (an alliance between NYU Stern School of Business, London School of Economics and Political Science, and HEC School of Management in Paris), a Master of Laws (LLM) in Banking & Financial Law from Boston University in the USA, and a Bachelor’s degree in Law and Sharia from Qatar University. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate from Swansea University in the UK in recognition of his contributions to international development.
Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin is an economist with more than 30 years of experience in international finance and development. He currently serves as the United Nations Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Recently, he served as the UN High-Level Climate Champion for Egypt, and as Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund representing the Arab States and The Maldives. Previously, Dr. Mohieldin was the Minister of Investment of Egypt from 2004-2010, and afterwards served as the World Bank Group Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda, United Nations Relations and Partnerships.
Dr. Mohieldin held seats on several advisory and executive boards in the banking, research, academic and corporate sectors among others, including his role as chairman of the Africa chapter for the Glasgow Financial Alliance on Net Zero (GFANZ). He was a member of the Commission on Growth and Development and was selected a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum in 2005. Dr. Mohieldin is a Professor of Economics and Finance at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science in Cairo University and has been a member of its faculty for almost 30 years. In addition to that, he has held posts as a visiting Professor at several renowned Universities in Egypt, Korea, the UAE, the UK and the US.
Dr. Mohieldin holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom; an M.Sc. in Economics and Social Policy Analysis from the University of York, United Kingdom; a Diploma of Development Economics from the University of Warwick; and a B.Sc. in Economics from Cairo University. He has authored numerous publications and articles in leading journals in the fields of economics, finance, and sustainable development.
Mrs. Ameina Shafi Mohin joined the Department of Commerce, Colombo in 2000. Since joining the Department, she has been serving in various capacities, including Director/Head of the Multilateral Trade Affairs Division, Director/Head of Rules of Origin Division, Director/Head, Trade Promotion Division, Deputy Director/Head, Bilateral Trade Division, and Deputy Director/Assistant Director, Bilateral Affairs/Multilateral Affairs/Trade Promotion. Since May 2025, she has been serving as the Director General of Commerce, overseeing the overall operations and strategic direction of the Department.
Prior to this appointment, she served as the Director/Head, Multilateral Trade Division, and also co-chaired the Sub Committee on Trade Remedies in the Sri Lanka National Trade Negotiation Committee, including the recently signed Sri Lanka–Thailand FTA, the Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement with India, and the Preferential Trade Agreement between Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Moreover, she represented the Department of Commerce in the formulation of the National Policy on Trade. Representing the National Trade Facilitation Committee and the National Trade Facilitation Secretariat, she coordinated work related to the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, in coordination with Sri Lanka Customs. She was also involved in the negotiations of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies along with relevant stakeholders and the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the WTO. In addition, she prepared Sri Lanka’s position on the E-moratorium in consultation with stakeholders. She was entrusted with the supervision of Sri Lanka’s 5th WTO Trade Policy Review Mechanism, coordinating with all trade and economic agencies.
In her diplomatic career, she has served in various Sri Lankan missions abroad as Minister/Deputy Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the Rome-based UN agencies (FAO, WFP & IFAD), Minister (Commercial) at the Sri Lanka Consulate General in Frankfurt, Minister Counsellor (Commercial) at the Sri Lanka High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, and First Secretary (Commercial) at the Sri Lanka Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Prior to joining the Department of Commerce, she was attached to the Department of Export Agriculture as a Research Officer (Economics). Immediately after graduation, She was recruited by the University of Peradeniya as an Assistant Lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture.
She holds a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Economics from the Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture, Peradeniya, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture (majoring in Economics) from the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya.
She has over 25 years environmental management experience in the public service from national, provincial to local government where she held various senior management positions. Since 1 December 2021, she assumed position of Deputy Director General for Biodiversity and Conservation in the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) after having served in the same department as the National Project Manager for the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN). In her career, she has led environmental legislative review, policy development and facilitation and project implementation to improve the quality of the environment, especially in biodiversity and ecosystem restoration. She is a graduate in the fields of natural sciences and engineering management and has interest in the intersection of nature, livelihoods and financing biodiversity.
Tatiana Molcean is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), appointed by the UN Secretary-General on 26 July 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.