-Dr. Al-Ali: The Council is characterized by its diversity, reflecting different intellectual and research schools, emphasizing TRENDS’ global nature
The Advisory Council of TRENDS Research and Advisory held its first meeting following its reformation for the 2024/2025 as part of ongoing efforts to enhance performance and strengthen the Center’s position as a leading global research authority.
At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al-Ali, CEO of TRENDS and Chairman of the Advisory Council, welcomed the new Council members, expressing his appreciation for their joining. He affirmed that their membership would be a valuable and significant addition to supporting the Center’s work and achieving its ambitious goals in the upcoming period.
Dr. Al-Ali emphasized the importance of this meeting in outlining the next phase for the Center. He stated, “At TRENDS Research and Advisory, we have ensured that the advisory body is diverse and reflects different intellectual and research schools, from the East and the West, as well as from our Middle East, because at TRENDS, we work according to a global vision and orientation. We strive to be a bridge for intellectual and knowledge dialogue between the East and the West, and a platform for effective global research collaboration”.
He provided a brief overview of the Center, explaining that TRENDS is an independent, private research institution founded in Abu Dhabi in 2014, yet it carries a global vision and orientation.
Dr. Mohammed Al-Ali mentioned that TRENDS has two main arms: the first is a research arm that supports rigorous and solid scientific research through 16 research programs covering various economic, political and strategic fields, including issues of technology and artificial intelligence. We have a diverse range of publications, including original and translated books in 16 major languages, as well as specialized scientific series. We publish our studies daily on the Center’s website, which are written by more than 200 resident and non-resident researchers, reflecting the world’s different cultures.
He added that the second arm is advisory, providing a variety of consulting services to many UAE and international bodies and institutions, including specialized advisory reports and studies, public opinion polls, and training and qualification programs.
The CEO of TRENDS confirmed that the Center aims to enhance and multiply these achievements and successes in the coming phase. The support of the distinguished Advisory Council members will certainly play a crucial role in realizing its future ambitions, especially in providing constructive advice and recommendations that enhance the Center’s competitiveness in delivering pioneering and unique research, fostering innovation and leadership in research work, solidifying the Center’s position on the global research stage, and strengthening its active presence and participation in various regional and international forums, elevating the research and advisory services it offers according to the highest international standards.
During the meeting, the Council members reviewed TRENDS’ outputs over the past years and the Center’s strategic plans for the next phase to enhance its outcomes and role and reaffirm its regional and global leadership.
The meeting took place on the eve of the Center’s celebration of its 10th anniversary. The Advisory Council members congratulated TRENDS on the occasion of a decade since its founding and appreciated being selected for the new Council formation. They affirmed that TRENDS has become a global authority in the journey of scientific research through its solid research, precise analyses and modern approaches.
They stated that they would work diligently to support TRENDS’ vision of empowering research and consultancy to achieve sustainable development goals, as well as to enhance the spirit of innovation and leadership, thereby solidifying the Center’s position on the global research stage. They added that they would strive to support strategies for research, development and training by providing constructive advice and recommendations that enhance the Center’s competitiveness in delivering pioneering and unique research that adds value to the research community.
The newly formed Advisory Council includes a distinguished group of academic and prominent figures, including H.E. Abdullah Majed Al Ali, Director General of the National Library and Archives; H.E. Dr. Faisal Obaid Al Ayyan, Director of the Higher Colleges of Technology; H.E. Nickolay Mladenov, Director General of the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy; H.E. Dr. Ali Saeed bin Harmal Al Dhaheri, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Abu Dhabi University; H.E. Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, Managing Director and Group CEO of ADNEC Group; H.E. Salem Saeed Al Saeedi, Vice President of Rabdan Academy; H.E. Dr. Khalifa Mubarak Al Dhaheri, Chancellor of Mohamed Bin Zayed University for Humanities; Eng. Jassim Mohammed Al Hosani, Advisor to the Chairman of the Department of Economic Development in Abu Dhabi; and Dr. Hamad Al Kaabi, CEO of Aletihad News Center.
The Advisory Council also includes H.E. Ambassador (Retired) Marcelle M. Wahba, former U.S. Ambassador to the UAE and President Emeritus of the Gulf Arab States Institute in Washington, Dr. Fatima Saeed Al Shamsi, Deputy Executive Director for Administrative Affairs at Sorbonne University, Professor João Bosco Monte, President of the Brazil African Institute, Dr. Pascal Boniface, Director of the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs, and Professor Khalil Luo Lin, Dean of the School of Middle Eastern Studies at the Beijing Language and Culture University, as well as the Council’s rapporteur Abdulhadi Al Hammadi, Head of Public Relations and Media Sector and Office Director of the CEO.
