As part of its European research tour in Italy, TRENDS Research & Advisory, through its Virtual Office in Rome, signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI) in Rome. The agreement aims to strengthen academic and research collaboration between the two sides in areas including research, studies, opinion polls, training, development, consultancy, and forward-looking studies that promote peace and tolerance and foster constructive intellectual dialogue.

The memorandum was signed by Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al-Ali, CEO of TRENDS Research & Advisory, and Professor Wasim Salman, President of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, in the presence of H.E. Abdulla Ali Al-Sibousi, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Italy; Monsignor Dr. Yoannis Lahzi Gaid, member of the Vatican Secretariat of State for General Affairs and Representative of the Holy See to the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity; along with several experts and researchers from both sides.

The signing is part of the two institutions’ shared commitment to enhance knowledge exchange and build bridges of understanding through in-depth and objective study of regional and international issues and joint analysis. Key areas of cooperation include organizing conferences and workshops, conducting scientific studies, exchanging expertise and knowledge, and implementing joint research and intellectual programs.

Studying Contemporary Phenomena

Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al-Ali, CEO of TRENDS Research & Advisory, affirmed that the memorandum of cooperation with the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies seeks to open new horizons for effective partnership in scientific research and the study of contemporary intellectual and social phenomena, with a focus on issues of social peace and intercultural coexistence.

Dr. Al-Ali noted that both parties are determined to elevate this cooperation by encouraging researcher exchanges, publishing joint papers and studies in Arabic and English, and leveraging both institutions’ media and academic platforms to disseminate the outcomes of this collaboration. He added that they will organize roundtable discussions and expert dialogues to bring perspectives closer and share scientific insights on global developments.

He emphasized that this memorandum reflects TRENDS’ vision of building bridges of communication, promoting constructive dialogue, and conducting objective analyses of regional and international challenges — all of which contribute to offering in-depth perspectives and consolidating the values of coexistence and tolerance, while spreading a culture of moderation, acceptance of others, and rejection of violence, extremism, and hate speech.

Enriching Intellectual Dialogue

For his part, Professor Wasim Salman, President of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies in Rome, said that cooperation and partnership with TRENDS Research & Advisory will enrich intellectual dialogue among cultures and shed greater light on the shared values between societies and peoples, especially amid current global challenges that require a common and profound understanding.

He added that this will be achieved through joint events and studies to be launched in the coming period, enhancing the Institute and TRENDS’s roles as leading platforms in strategic research and civilizational dialogue.

Prof. Salman noted that signing this memorandum comes at a time of rapid transformations and multiple challenges on the international stage, which increases the importance of cooperation in exchanging viewpoints and jointly analyzing regional and global issues. This collaboration, he added, will effectively contribute to presenting innovative perspectives, offering precise scientific analyses and objective readings of political, social, and intellectual phenomena, and fostering mutual understanding between East and West.