Ola Sidani is an Economic expert. She works at the Office of the Prime Minister of Lebanon, under the UNDP’s project for capacity building in the Lebanese government, where she provides top notch analysis and policy recommendations on social and economic national strategies and reform plans. With the former Prime Minister, she was also in charge of drafting speeches in Arabic language for his Excellency. Formerly an economic researcher at the General Union of Arab Chambers of Commerce, she has a broad understanding of the development challenges in the Arab world. Ola has been a speaker at conferences on sustainable development and regional integration organized by GUCCIAAC, the League of Arab States, WTO, UN-ESCWA; and at the AIWF where she focused her remarks on women’s leadership. She was nominated by the Institute for Women Studies in the Arab world, at the Lebanese American University, to join the “Who Is She” initiative for prominent Lebanese women. She is a founding member of her high school alumni association; and a member in several local professional NGOs, such as the Lebanese Economic Association, and the Businessmen’s Federation for Support and Development. She focuses her involvement on supporting women and youth economic empowerment, poverty alleviation, and enhancing social cohesion. She is keen to stay dynamic in her society and is determined to promote the culture of women as human capital. As an independent researcher, her interests cover areas of socio-economic development in the Arab world, regional integration, trade and transport, governance and institutional modernization, etc. She published several articles on those topics, in both Arabic and English Ola is PMP certified; she holds a M.A. in Economics from the American University of Beirut where she earned her B.A. in Economics with a Minor in Public Administration. Ola speaks three languages, and is interested in writing poetry.
Ola Sidani
Economic Officer at United Nations Development Program
Sector: Government and International Institutions
Main Pillar: Politics, Diplomacy and Global Economy
Areas of Expertise: International Development
Country of Origin: Lebanon
City of Residency: Beirut, Lebanon