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 10 th
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.
