Raja Almarzoqi has been the Gulf Cooperation Council’s general coordinator for negotiations and head of its negotiating team since his appointment on March 22.
His main areas of expertise are in policy modeling for macroeconomic impact assessment, money and banking, and international and general finance.
Prior to taking up his new role he was the Saudi Ministry of Economy and Planning’s chief economic adviser, a faculty member in the economic division at Prince Saud Al-Faisal Institute for Diplomatic Studies, and a collaborating expert with the International Monetary Fund.
He has also held leadership and administrative positions with regional and international government and private-sector organizations, including as president of the Gulf Monetary Council.
In addition, he has hosted lectures on economics at institutions including King Saud University in Riyadh, the MIT Sloan School of Management, and the Thunderbird School of Global Management, both in the US.
During his career he has worked for the World Bank, Saudi Aramco, the formerly named Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, the GCC, Alkhabeer Capital, and the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology.
Almarzoqi gained a bachelor’s degree in economics from King Saud University, a master’s degree in applied mathematical economics from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and a Ph.D. in economics from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater.
He has had several research papers published in leading Middle East journals and books and has presented his findings at major regional and international conferences.