Ali Issa Abdi is the current Executive Director of the National Economic Council of Somalia, and the Managing Director of the Horn Economic & Social Policy Institute (HESPI), a regional Think Tank. He has PhD in Economics and an MBA in International Finance. He worked as senior economist and manager at the International Monetary Fund for over two decades, including as an Advisor in the African region and as Senior Resident Representative in Tanzania and in Ethiopia. He worked as an economist at Citibank and at the Central Bank of Somalia; and taught at several universities in the United States. Dr. Ali provided macroeconomic policy advice to more than 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and the Western Hemisphere.