Middle East
Heidi Huuhtanen - Head, Middle East and North Africa MENA
Heidi Huuhtanen is the Head of CMI's Middle East Programme. She has a leadership role over CMI's activities in the region, which focus on supporting conflict prevention and resolution. She is responsible for partnership and activity development, as well as fundraising. Dr Huuhtanen first joined CMI as an adviser to the Martti Ahtisaari Rapid Reaction Facility in 2008 and has since 2010 headed the Middle East Programme.
Yasar Qatarneh - Senior Project Manager
Dr Yasar Qatarneh is the Senior Project Manager of the "Foresight for Conflict Prevention in the Middle East” project. He directs and manages the overall development of the project, and coordinates its implementation with the project partners, local stakeholders, and funders. Dr Qatarneh is an expert in the fields of conflict, security, cooperation, and Middle East politics, with nearly ten years’ experience in research and analysis as well as fundraising and management.
Abdulmajid Al-Fahed - Senior Project Manager
Abdulmajid Al-Fahed is the Senior Project Manager of CMI’s Yemen project. He is responsible for the on-the-ground project implementation. He has extensive experience in the fields of development and human rights.
Maruan El Krekshi - Project Manager
Maruan El Krekshi is the Project Manager for CMI's Morocco and Tunisia projects. His tasks include overall budget and project management.
Saana Keskitalo - Project Manager
Saana Keskitalo acts as the project manager in two of CMI's Middle East projects. Her tasks include overall budget and project management. Her main fields of interest include international relations and Middle East politics, and in particular the dynamics between regional and international actors in conflict resolution.
Enas Al-Arashi - Project Manager
Enas Al-Arashi acts as a project manager in CMI’s Supporting Yemeni National Dialogue and Confidence Building project. Her tasks include overall budget and project management.
Taru Savolainen - Project Officer
Taru Savolainen works as Project Officer in CMI’s "Foresight for Conflict Prevention in the Middle East” project. The three-year project initiated in early 2010 is being implemented in cooperation with CMI and local partner think tanks in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. During the project, high-level government officials, advisors and civil society actors identify economic, socio-political and environmental trends that could cause conflicts, analyze relations and linkages between them and develop policy recommendations aiming at preventing the indentified conflict potential from materializing.
Laura Latvasalo – Coordinator, Middle East and North Africa MENA
Laura Latvasalo works as a Coordinator in CMI’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. Her tasks include coordinating MENA team matters related to administration, communications, events, and financing.Previously, Laura has worked at the Americas and Asia Department at the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Helsinki. She holds Master’s degrees in Political History from the University of Helsinki
Emmi Hänninen - Project Assistant
Emmi Hänninen works as an intern for CMI’s Middle East and North Africa programme. She is completing her Master’s degree in International Relations with a specialization in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Tampere. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in World Politics from the University of Helsinki. Emmi has previously worked as an intern at the Embassy of Finland in Riyadh.