Dr. Mohamed Youssef Afifi is currently a senior researcher in economic studies at TRENDS Research and Advisory. He has professional and academic experience of more than 18 years. He received a PhD in economics from the Cairo University Faculty of Economics and Political Science in 2016. His thesis evaluates the relationship between Egyptian treasury bills and the efficiency of the Egyptian investment climate. Prior to receiving his PhD, he worked as a researcher, and then as a principal researcher, at the Egyptian Investment Authority since 2005. During that time, he participated in preparing specialized financial and economic studies in the Egyptian and Arab business environment, and also participated in many local and international conferences and workshops. In the academic field, Dr. Afifi worked as a member of the scientific council at the Saudi Institute of Public Administration within the institute’s economy and budget team. During his four-year tenure (2016-2019), he conducted dozens of training programs to develop the capabilities, knowledge and skills of Saudi government staff in various branches of economic analysis. He also participated in preparing and presenting specialized professional MA programs for Saudi government employees and some Arab government officials. His membership in the scientific council of the Saudi Institute of Public Administration enabled him to closely examine the Saudi business environment, and gave him the opportunity to provide specialized economic consultations and prepare scientific studies that were published in prestigious Saudi and Arab journals. Dr. Afifi also worked as a visiting professor for postgraduate studies in the Department of Economics at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science at Cairo University in Egypt. In 2020, he joined the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research to work as a research associate at the scientific research sector. He writes specialized intellectual and analytical articles on the opinion page of the Egyptian newspaper Al-Shorouk. His work also features in various publications of Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies and the Saudi Tanmia Idaria magazine. In addition to opinion articles, Dr. Afifi has published many economic research manuscripts and specialized studies in many scientific periodicals.