A former president of the European Commission and current head of the Italy-ASEAN association, Romano Prodi is a seasoned politician and diplomat who will share his thoughts on how Dubai can be a connecting hub between the ASEAN region and Europe and how business can navigate the changing global political and economic landscape.

After a career as a professor of industrial organisation and policy, Romano Prodi served as Italy’s minister of industry in 1978-79, and then led the Institute for Industrial Reconstruction (IRI), overseeing the privatisation of industrial, banking and service companies. He was his country’s prime minister from 1996 to 1998 and 2006 to 2008, and served as president of the European Commission from 1999 to 2005, during which period the euro was introduced, the Union was enlarged and the European Constitution was established. From 2008 to 2010 Mr Prodi chaired the United Nations-African Union High-level Panel for Peacekeeping in Africa, and in 2012-14 he was the UN’s Special Envoy for the Sahel. He is president of the Foundation for Worldwide Cooperation, and has been president of the Italy-ASEAN Association since March 2021.