First IASIA-MENAPAR Dialogue Opens a Path for Strengthening State Capacity in the MENA Region

Diogo Pereira,

The IASIA Annual Conference in Athens hosted the first dialogue session between IASIA and MENAPAR (Middle East and North Africa Public Administration Research), bringing together institutions from the Middle East and North Africa and from other regions.

The discussion focused on strengthening state capacity in the MENA region, and in particular on how public administration education and training must evolve so that institutions can support AI-enabled governance and citizen-centred services. Participants compared experiences, learned from each other's practice and worked towards evidence-based recommendations.

The session was chaired by H.E. Moussa Abu Zaid, President of MENAPAR (Palestine). The panellists were Prof. Dr Liezel Lues, IASIA President (South Africa); Sen. Dr Abla Amawi, The Jordanian Senate (Jordan); Dr Sofiane Sahraoui, IIAS Director General (Belgium); and Dr Younes Abouyoub, Chief of Governance and State-Building at UN ESCWA (Lebanon).

The organisers aim to make this exchange a permanent feature of IASIA conferences and to build a lasting strategic partnership between IASIA and MENAPAR in the Arab region.

Read more about IASIA 2026 Conference at IASIA 2026: the Global Public Administration Community Together in Athens.

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