Global Prosperity Forum

  • Thu, April 9, 2026 • 9:00 am ET
  • Atlantic Council Headquarters
  • 1400 L Street NW • Floor 11
  • Washington, DC 20005

The Global Prosperity Forum brings together policymakers, industry leaders, and scholars to explore actionable solutions for global development, freedom, democracy, and shared prosperity.

On Thursday, April 9, at 9:00 a.m. ET, the Atlantic Council’s Freedom and Prosperity Center hosted the Global Prosperity Forum at the Atlantic Council’s global headquarters in Washington, DC. With the US reshaping its approach to foreign assistance and international investment, this year’s Forum highlighted new approaches to advancing democracy and prosperity across the world.

Headlined by a #ACFrontPage on US commercial diplomacy strategies with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, The Forum featured discussions about development finance, democracy assistance, global entrepreneurship policy, country spotlights on Iran and Venezuela, and more. Speakers included leaders and experts shaping the international development landscape.

Additional Sessions

With the US-Iran conflict continuing to evolve, Holly Dagres joined Nate Swanson for a conversation on the human rights outlook in Iran.
Geoffrey Pyatt, Cindy Huang, and Conor Savoy joined moderator Adva Saldinger to discuss the distinction between economic statecraft and development.
Director of Maria Corina Machado’s and Edmundo Gonzalez’s US office Rafael De La Cruz joined Daniel Erikson to discuss political and economic transition in Venezuela.
Alina Romanowski and Wa’el Alzayat joined Allison Minor to explore opportunities for creating and leveraging trade corridors in the Middle East.
Harvard’s Ibrahim Al-Assil joined Nour Dabboussi for a discussion on the development of rule of law and political institutions in Syria.
House Foreign Affairs Committee senior staff member Quill Robinson and staff member in Chris Coons’ office Chris Avila joined Katie Auth to discuss energy security compacts.
Harvard Kennedy School fellow Ameni Mehrez joined Nour Dabboussi to discuss the prospects for long-term institutional stability in Tunisia.

speakers

Agenda

9:00–9:05 a.m. | Welcoming remarks

Speakers

James Mazzarella
Senior Director, Freedom and Prosperity Center,
Atlantic Council

Michael Fisch
Founder and CEO,
American Securities;
Chairman, Freedom and Prosperity Center,
Atlantic Council

9:05–10:00 a.m. | AC Front Page: Christopher Landau on commercial diplomacy to advance US interests worldwide

Featuring

Christopher Landau
Deputy Secretary of State,
US Department of State

Moderated by

Frederick Kempe
President and CEO,
Atlantic Council

10:00–11:00 a.m. | Achieving strategic objectives through investment and development finance

Speakers

Colin Buckley
Managing Director and General Counsel,
British International Investment

Dan Petrie
Acting Chief of Staff,
Millennium Challenge Corporation

Bethany Aquilina Brez
Vice President, Office of Foreign Policy,
US International Development Finance Corporation

Jake Cusack
Co-founder and Managing Director, 
CrossBoundary Group

Moderated by

Kimberly Reed
Distinguished Fellow, Freedom and Prosperity Center, 
Atlantic Council

11:15–11:45 a.m. | The future of democracy assistance

Speakers

Dan Twining
President,
International Republican Institute

Melissa Ford Maldonado
Director, Western Hemisphere Initiative,
America First Policy Institute

Moderated by

Patrick Quirk
Senior Advisor, Freedom and Prosperity Center,
Atlantic Council

11:45–12:45 p.m. | From evidence to reform: Kicking off the Entrepreneurship Policy Initiative

Speakers

Greg Wolcott
Director, Individual Freedom and Free Markets,
John Templeton Foundation

Dan Barnes
Managing Director, Selection and Accountability,
Millennium Challenge Corporation

Adriana Vicentini
CEO,
MEG Inteligencia de Datos

Patrick McLaughlin
Research Fellow, Hoover Institution,
Stanford University

Moderated by

Moussa Traoré
Director, Entrepreneurship Policy Initiative,
Freedom and Prosperity Center,
Atlantic Council

2:00–2:45 p.m. | Winning hearts and markets? China’s reach in the Global South

Speakers

Joseph Asunka
CEO,
Afrobarometer

Melanie Hart
Senior Director, Global China Hub,
Atlantic Council

Ho-fung Hung
Henry M. and Elizabeth P. Wiesenfeld Professor in Political Economy,
Johns Hopkins University

Moderated by

Jeremy Mark
Nonresident Senior Fellow, GeoEconomics Center,
Atlantic Council

2:00–2:45 p.m. | Iran country spotlight: War, human rights, and the path to a better future

Featuring 

Holly Dagres
Libitzky Family Senior Fellow, Viterbi Program on Iran and US Policy,
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Moderated by

Nate Swanson
Director, Iran Strategy Project, Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs,
Atlantic Council

2:00–2:45 p.m. | Economic statecraft or development: Does the distinction still hold?

Speakers

Conor Savoy
Visiting Fellow,
Center for Global Development

Cindy Huang
Non-Resident Fellow,
Center for Global Development

Geoffrey Pyatt
Senior Managing Director, Energy and Critical Minerals
McLarty Associates

Moderated by

Adva Saldinger
Senior Reporter,
Devex

3:00–3:30 p.m. | Responsible mining in the critical minerals sector

Speakers

Tom Haslett
Director, Energy and Critical Minerals Policy,
US International Development Finance Corporation

Alan Carroll
Deputy Director, Government Affairs,
KoBold Metals

Moderated by

Kyeh Kim
COO,
Fulcrum Ventures

3:00–3:30 p.m. | Venezuela country spotlight: Navigating political and economic transition

Featuring

Rafael De La Cruz
Director,
Office of Maria Corina Machado and the President-elect
Edmundo González Urrutia in the United States

Moderated by

Daniel P. Erikson
Senior Advisor,
Covington and Burling;
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center,
Atlantic Council

3:00–3:30 p.m. | Supporting strategic trade corridors in the Middle East

Speakers

Alina Romanowski
Distinguished Fellow, Iraq Initiative, Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative,
Atlantic Council

Wa’el Alzayat
Executive Director,
US-Syria Business Council
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Syria Project, Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs,
Atlantic Council

Moderated by

Allison Minor
Director, Project on Middle East Integration, Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs,
Atlantic Council

3:45–4:15 p.m. | Toward a modern era of development cooperation 

Speakers

Rania Al-Mashat
Former Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation,
Arab Republic of Egypt

Vera Songwe
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Africa Growth Initiative,
Brookings Institution;
Founder and Chairwoman,
The Liquidity and Sustainability Facility

Moderated by

Alexia LaTortue
Head of Secretariat,
Future of Development Cooperation Coalition

3:45–4:15 p.m. | Syria country spotlight: The need for a ‘rules-first’ reset

Featuring

Ibrahim Al-Assil
Senior Research Fellow, Middle East Initiative,
Harvard Kennedy School;
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Syria Project,
Atlantic Council

Moderated by

Nour Dabboussi
Associate Director, MENA Futures Lab, Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs,
Atlantic Council

3:45–4:15 p.m. | Using energy security compacts to promote growth

Speakers

Quill Robinson
Senior Professional Staff Member, House Foreign Affairs Committee,
US House of Representatives

Chris Avila
Energy and Environment Legislative Assistant,
Office of Senator Chris Coons

Moderated by

Katie Auth
Deputy Executive Director,
Energy for Growth Hub

4:30–5:00 p.m. | Non-kinetic approaches to countering cartels

Speakers

Noy Villalobos
Chief Programs Officer,
Creative Associates International

Connor Pfeiffer
Senior Director, Government Relations,
FDD Action

Moderated by

Patrick Quirk
Senior Advisor, Freedom and Prosperity Center,
Atlantic Council

4:30–5:00 p.m. | Tunisia country spotlight: Building institutions for long-term stability

Featuring

Ameni Mehrez
Assistant Professor, Government Department,
College of William & Mary;
Nonresident Fellow, Middle East Initiative,
Harvard Kennedy School

Moderated by

Nour Dabboussi
Associate Director, MENA Futures Lab, Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs,
Atlantic Council

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The Freedom and Prosperity Center aims to increase the prosperity of the poor and marginalized in developing countries and to explore the nature of the relationship between freedom and prosperity in both developing and developed nations.

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