Join LISD’s Seminar on Global Diplomatic and Security Challenges (GDSC) for a session with Amb. Roland Kobia, European Union Special Envoy for Afghanistan, and Amb. Adela Raz, Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the United Nations, on "The Process for Peace and Stabilization of Afghanistan." The seminar will have three objectives: to determine where the negotiation process currently stands; to provide information about the situation on the ground; to evaluate potential ways forward for the country. Several representatives and international experts will be present to share their perspectives with the speakers. GDSC is a yearlong interactive seminar for graduate and undergraduate students led by Founding Director, Wolfgang Danspeckgruber. This session is co-sponsored by the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies and the American Whig-Cliosophic Society. The session is open to the public and rsvp is required. 

About the Speakers

Ambassador Adela Raz is the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the United Nations. She possesses 11 years of extensive experience working with various governmental and non-governmental, local and international organizations. Raz began her career with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in 2002 and headed to the United States in 2004 to pursue her higher education. From 2010 to early 2013, Raz worked with an international development organization in the US, with projects focused on Afghanistan and Central Asia. In 2013, Raz was appointed as the first female Deputy Spokesperson and Director of Communications for the President. She moved into a new position as the Chief of Staff at the Administrative Office of the President in November 2014, and in March 2016, she was appointed as Deputy Minister for Economic Cooperation at Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Among other bilateral and multilateral responsibilities, she was leading the two major Afghanistan centered regional cooperation platforms – the Regional Economic Cooperation Conferences on Afghanistan (RECCA) and the Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process (HoA-IP).  Some major tasks under her leadership and portfolio are leading the negotiation and finalization of the declarations of RECCA, HoA-IP and the Geneva Conferences on Afghanistan; leading the negotiation and signing process of the Lapis Lazuli Route Agreement, and inclusion of Women’s Economic Empowerment component as a new initiative under RECCA. Raz holds a masters in Law and Diplomacy with a focus on Economic Development from the Fletcher School/Tufts University and a BA with honors with triple majors in International Relations, Political Science, and Economics from Simmons College in Boston, USA. She also holds a certificate in International Development from the Fletcher School/ Tufts University. Ambassador Raz is married and has two daughters.

Ambassador Roland Kobia is the European Union Special Envoy for Afghanistan. He has focused on peace processes, transition countries and reconciliation initiatives, regional security issues and state-building for the last 17 years. Prior to his current appointment, Kobia was the first resident Ambassador of the European Union to Myanmar, having been the first full-term EU Ambassador to Azerbaijan in 2009-2013. Earlier, he was the Deputy Head of Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, notably covering the regional politics and the Great Lakes conflict. Kobia also served in Kenya as the Head of the Regional Political Section, covering political affairs, conflicts and peace processes in 12 countries of the Horn of Africa and of the African Great Lakes regions, and mediating peace agreements. Between postings, he was called by the EU Commissioner for Energy to serve as the International Affairs Advisor in his Private Office. Kobia has been a visiting professor at the University of Montpellier for several years, and a regular lecturer in various universities and institutes. He is a frequent guest speaker at international conferences and has published several political and legal articles in various international reviews. Kobia holds a Law Degree (LL.B) from Louvain, Belgium and two masters degrees in in European Political Sciences from the College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium and in International Nuclear Law, University of Montpellier 1, France. Ambassador Kobia is married with two daughters.