Ayoup Elrashdi

A strategic adviser and multilateral practitioner, Ayoup specializes in catalyzing new partnerships and teams to address regional challenges, fostering diplomatic relations among African Member States, and engaging in international partnerships to promote peace and sustainability. Ayoups approach is centered on the strategic alignment of interests, leveraging the collective strengths of diverse stakeholders to develop innovative solutions. He is dedicated to contributing to the creation of a better future for Africa, where cooperation and strategic alliances play a key role in overcoming regional challenges. Since 2013, Ayoup has served as a Senior Economic Advisor at the African Union (AU). He plays several roles in helping to lead the impactful work of the AU at the United Nations. His focus has been on analyzing and addressing economic disparities, passionately advocating for sustainable economic growth in Africa, and actively engaging in multilateral negotiations. He contributes to the formulation of common positions that can bring about a transformative shift in key economic negotiations, ensuring resilience, transformation, and inclusivity in Africa. Ayoup has a firm belief in the power of innovative solutions to transform the world, and in the power of international cooperation to drive change at the pace and scale required. Until late 2013, Ayoup was the Senior Industry Advisor in the AU. He led working teams and built long term partnerships and collaboration with stakeholders, demonstrated through developing and implementing several AU projects and activities in partnership with Member States, UN entities and other partners. He is a project manager with a track record of leading the development of two continental strategies, the Accelerated Industrial Development for Africa (AIDA), and the African Mining Vision (AMV), both strategies were adopted by African Member States and encapsulated in the AU Agenda 2063. He provided advisory support to the AU negotiation teams during the transition from the UN millennium Development Goals MDGs to the Sustainable Development Goals SDGs. He further contributed in galvanizing common positions and policy options on development-security nexus among AU Member States. Before joining the AU in 2006, Ayoup had over fifteen years of diverse experience in public and private domains. His expertise spans policy analysis, organizational re-engineering, team dynamics, performance management, and has practitioner knowledge in project development, monitoring, and evaluation. Ayoup holds a Masters degree in diplomacy and international relations from FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON UNIVERSITY, USA, and a Master's in Industrial Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering, GARYOUNIS UNIVERSITY, Libya.