On July 25, Tunisians will vote on the new constitution drafted by President Kais Saied. The constitutional referendum comes during a difficult economic and political period in Tunisia. Economically, the country is reeling from high inflation, spiking unemployment, as well as sharply elevated commodity prices, and is in desperate need of an IMF deal—which the Tunisian government is currently negotiating. Politically, Kais Saied threw the country’s entire structure into chaos one year ago by suspending parliament and subsequently dissolving the legislature and suspending the constitution, which he has now redrawn to reflect a hyper-presidential system. 

Please join the Middle East Institute on Thursday, July 21, at 10:00 a.m. EDT, for a panel on the details of the new constitution, the opposition’s reaction to it, and what it means for Tunisia’s political future. 

 Speakers

Zaid Al-Ali
Senior Advisor, Constitution-Building for the Arab Region, International IDEA

Mouna Ben Halima
Founder and CEO, Hotel La Badira in Hammamet

Rafik Halouani
General Coordinator, Mourakiboun

Intissar Fakir, moderator
Senior Fellow and Director, North Africa and Sahel Program, MEI

Russia’s war against Ukraine is the largest military conflict Europe has seen since World War II, with 15 million people displaced and thousands of civilian casualties. Russia has waged a war of destruction not just against Ukraine, but also against the world. For months Moscow has prevented the export of Ukrainian grain that countries in the Middle East and Africa depend on. Half of the World Food Programme’s grain comes from Ukraine, meaning the Russian blockade has affected international humanitarian relief efforts. The devastating consequences of food shortages and increased prices are being felt around the world, leading to a heightened risk of famine in the coming months.

How is Russia waging a grain war in the Black Sea region? How are food shortages impacting Middle East countries that depend on Ukrainian grain? What role does the Crimean Peninsula play in Russia’s blockade? What can the international community do to ease the food crisis and prevent a major famine?

Speakers

Mirette Mabrouk
Senior Fellow and Founding Director, Egypt Program, Middle East Institute 

Tamila Tasheva
Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in Crimea

Maria Tomak
Coordinator of the Media Initiative for Human Rights in Ukraine

Iulia Joja, moderator
Director, Frontier Europe Initiative; Project Director, Afghanistan Watch, Middle East Institute

The UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP27) will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt in November. With the ever-clearer impact of climate change being brought home the world over, each successive COP takes on greater urgency. Last year’s event, COP26 in Glasgow, in the United Kingdom, was felt by climate change activists to have fallen short of what was needed for meaningful progress on this critical issue. This year, Egypt is the host and there has been a stated emphasis on the importance of adaptation, mitigation, and financial support for climate change work. What does it mean for an emerging economy to host this conference? What are the organizers hoping to achieve? And what are the stakes for emerging economies, which have contributed so little to climate change but are bearing the brunt of its impact?

Speakers

Ambassador Mohamed Nasr
Director of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development Department, Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs 

Sarah El-Battouty
Non-resident Scholar, MEI; CEO, ECOnsult; UNFCCC Global Ambassador 

Hani Sewilam
Professor, Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology, American University in Cairo

Mirette F. Mabrouk, moderator
Senior Fellow and Founding Director of the Egypt Program, MEI