Ms. Maitha Alkaabi

Maitha is an Executive Projects Manager for the federal philanthropic organisation Erth Zayed in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). She remains a Foreign Affairs expert in the National Experts Program (NEP), with over 12 years of experience in diplomacy, strategic policy, international cooperation, climate diplomacy, and multilateral negotiations across the public and private sectors. She has extensive experience supporting the UAE Government in developing strategic policy, strengthening bilateral and multilateral partnerships, and advancing international engagement, particularly under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), with over 12 years of experience across the public and private sectors. She previously led the finance negotiations team for the three COP Presidencies, COP 27, COP 28, and COP 29. She was bestowed the First-Class Order of Zayed II by the esteemed President HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Vice President HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum of the UAE, an award which is the highest decoration, to recognise the efforts of the Negotiations Team at COP 28 in achieving a truly outstanding outcome. Prior to this, she fulfilled UN-affiliated assignments and served as Strategy Advisor for a clean tech start-up California-based company. Additionally, she was selected to work at the UAE Embassy in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), initially as Energy and Climate Change Attaché for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was appointed Acting Chargé d’Affaires on several occasions, where she managed bilateral coordination to facilitate high-level official visits, including that of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE (2015). During her tenure in China, she also served as Acting Consul General, managing the UAE Embassy and three consulates. In these roles, she managed teams comprising over 80 diplomats and staff members. Maitha earned a Master of Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford, UK, (Merit) as a recipient of the prestigious Oxford – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Graduate Scholarship, and she continues to represent the Blavatnik School of Government as global alumni representative. She also holds a Master of Science in Water and Environmental Engineering from the MIT- backed Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, in addition to her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the UAE University.