New fellows will contribute to the Atlantic Council’s leading work on security, financial and energy markets, and US foreign policy in the Middle East

WASHINGTON, DC—March 16, 2021—The Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative and empowerME Initiative announced today the addition of five nonresident fellows:

  • Khaled H. Alyemany, a former career diplomat in the Yemeni foreign service who served as Foreign Minister and Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
  • R. Clarke Cooper, a national security expert with significant intelligence and security cooperation experience in the Middle East, and most recently the US Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs.
  • Ariel Ezrahi, Director of Energy at the Office of the Quartet, where he chairs the Gas for Gaza Task Force, and an expert in energy and peace building in the Middle East.
  • Dominik Treeck, a partner at global consulting firm Oliver Wyman, and an expert on financial sector policy, regulatory, and governance matters, with a focus on the GCC region.
  • Matthew Zais, a retired career Army officer with expertise in energy and US Middle East policy, and most recently a Director on the National Security Council and the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy in the Office of International Affairs.

We continue to recruit nonresident fellows to the Atlantic Council who strengthen our impact with their expertise, their deep connections in the Middle East and Washington, and their solutions-oriented approach”

William F. Wechsler, Director of the Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs

“We continue to recruit nonresident fellows to the Atlantic Council who strengthen our impact with their expertise, their deep connections in the Middle East and Washington, and their solutions-oriented approach,” said William F. Wechsler, director of the Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs. “The addition of these experts will allow our team to expand its geographic range and focus on energy policy, finance, and core questions around national security and cooperation between the United States and our Middle Eastern partners.”

The empowerME Initiative was established in 2020, and works to shape solutions to empower entrepreneurs, women, and youth and build coalitions of public and private partnerships to drive regional economic integration, prosperity, and job creation.The Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative addresses the full range of security threats and challenges including the danger of interstate warfare, the role of terrorist groups and other nonstate actors, and the underlying security threats facing countries in the region.

Dominik Treeck will serve within the empowerME Initiative, where he will apply his experience advising regional ministers of finance, central banks, regulators, development banks, and leading financial institutions to help empowerME develop solutions to promote regional economic prosperity.

The four additional fellows will serve within the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative. As a new US administration takes on the conflict in Yemen, negotiations between Israel and the Arab world, and a changing energy landscape, these experts bring to the initiative a wealth of subject matter expertise and deep, practical know-how on the policy processes of the US and regional governments.

For inquiries or to request an interview, please contact press@AtlanticCouncil.org.

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Middle East Programs

Through our Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East and Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative, the Atlantic Council works with allies and partners in Europe and the wider Middle East to protect US interests, build peace and security, and unlock the human potential of the region.

Related Experts: Khaled H. Alyemany, R. Clarke Cooper, Ariel Ezrahi, Dominik Treeck, and Matthew Zais