Point of View

Yasser Salimi joins us as a Youth Ambassador from Tehran, Iran, where he is a board member of the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation (ICYF-DC) and a Master’s candidate in International Relations.

Navtej Dhillon and Diana Greenwald argue that, despite a difficult political climate, the 'Union for the Mediterranean' can exceed expectations by convening European and Arab leaders around a pressing and shared interest: the need to improve economic outcomes for millions of young people in the broader Middle East.

Contrary to recent findings by the Central Bank of Iran, Brookings Visiting Fellow Djavad Salehi-Isfahani argues poverty rates in Iran are not high when compared to international standards for developing countries, nor do they appear to be rising. However, income inequality is on the rise and poses a challenge to President Ahmadinejad in his 2009 re-election bid.

MEYI’s Youth Ambassador Think Tank is a forum to encourage active discussion on topics of timely relevance to Middle Eastern youth. Our second topic deals with regional reactions to the upcoming U.S. elections.