What a privilege it was to speak on one of the most dynamic panels of the year — exploring the legal and institutional architecture of the GCC energy transition.
This wasn’t just a discussion — it was a deeply thoughtful, regionally grounded, and intellectually energizing exchange on the policies, governance, and pathways shaping the future of energy in the Gulf.

✨ Panel Highlights:
🔹 Sara Akbar – CEO of OilSERV Kuwait, and our brilliant moderator. Her sharp intellect and strategic clarity continue to inspire. We were honored to host her last year at The Diwan’s GCCatHarvard 2024 at Harvard University, and equally honored to join her again on this stage. Her leadership and insight elevated every moment of the session.
🔹 Dr. Mohammed R. Al-Sulaiti – of Qatar Foundation, who provided a sharp and timely analysis of Qatar’s climate strategy, COP updates, and MRV evolution.
🔹 Yousef Al-Abdullah – from Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), with a practical and forward-looking overview of renewable energy deployment and national targets.
🔹 Eng. Sanaa Alghareeb – From Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity and Water and Renewable Energy, brought institutional wisdom and a policy practitioner’s lens to the discussion. Her points on operational readiness and sectoral coordination were powerful.
🔹 Dr. Osamah Alsayegh – With decades of policy and technical experience, Dr. Al-Sayegh offered a critical systems perspective grounded in both national and academic expertise from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy as well as the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR).

💬 The dialogue spanned everything from climatelaw, institutionalharmonization, and MRVframeworks — to energydiplomacy, youthinclusion, and sovereignledinnovation in Kuwait.

I was honored to contribute insights from Icelis Global’s comparative work across the GCC — benchmarking where we stand, what’s working, and what legal pathways can unlock this region’s incredible potential.

🤝 Special thanks to:
The Kuwait Bar Association for their generosity and partnership;
The UIA Union Internationale des Avocats) for bringing together such a diverse, high-level gathering;

And especially to Jumanah Behbehani, whose kindness, care, and coordination made the entire experience seamless and meaningful. She is such an energetic leader and lovely person – I cannot say enough good things about her – and am so grateful to have been invited by her to give this talk.