Ebtesam Al-Ketbi
Ebtesam Al-Ketbi () was as one of the 50 Most Influential Women in the Arab World. She leads the Emirates Policy Center, a well-respected think tank in the Arab world. Al-Ketbi is the founder and president of the Emirates Policy Center, based in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. Education. Al-Ketbi earned her PhD in political science from Cairo University. Leadership positions. Al-Ketbi is the founder and president of the Emirates Policy Center (EPC). She is the first Arab woman to lead a think tank that’s considered to be one of the  most important in the region. The EPC is a think tank that takes on studies and foresees regional and international geopolitical projects in the future and how this impacts the Gulf region. In their 2018 global think tank index report, the University of Pennsylvania ranked EPC seventh in the Middle East and North Africa region. And in 2021, according to the same annual global think tank index report released by the University of Pennsylvania, EPC was ranked the first in the Arab World and second in the Middle East and North Africa region. The center holds an annual conference, entitled  ‘Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate,’ that was ranked among the world’s top ten conferences. Al-Ketbi believes that think tanks are an integral part of a state’s soft power strategy, and EPC has improved UAE’s image as a country that depends on knowledge, innovation, and research. In 2015, Al-Ketbi was appointed as a member of the Consultative Commission of the Cooperation Council of the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), in recognition of her efforts as a leader of the EPC. Al-Ketbi is on the board of directors of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington  D.C. Al-Ketbi has served as secretary-general for the Gulf Development Forum and as a board member of the Association of Political Sciences. She served as a member of the board of trustees for the Arab Unity Studies Center and the Arab Organization for Transparency. Al-Ketbi is also a founding member of the Emirates Human Rights Association. Career. Al-Ketbi is a professor of political science at the United Arab Emirates University. Al-Ketbi, as the president of a think tank, made comments on the recent Israeli war on Gaza. She said that this war is a test  of the Israeli-Emirati relationship, but it’s not an indication to step back from their peace treaty. She also said that this is a war between the Israelis and Palestinians — not of the Arabs as a whole. Al-Ketbi has also commented on the relation between the GCC countries and the importance “of confidence-building measures in the region.” Awards. In recognition of her work, Al-Ketbi has received multiple awards. In 2019, during the World Women Leadership Congress in Mumbai, she received the Women Super Achiever Award. In 2018, she received the Arab Social Media Influencers Award by  the Dubai Press Club in the Politics Category. Publications. Some of Al-Ketbi’s published papers include: “The Global Community and the War on Terrorism: Threat or Opportunity?”; “The Security Dimensions of Military Relations Between GCC countries and the USA”; and “Democratic Transformations in GCC Countries.” Most of her publications are around the topics of War on Terrorism, Gul Security, and US-GCC relations.