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Dr. Samina Sultan is an Economist for European Economic and Fiscal Policy at the German Economic Institute (IW). She studied economics at the Universities of Mannheim, St. Gallen and Tübingen; she did her PhD at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) and at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research interests include trade, trade policy, Europe, fiscal and industrial policies, and China

Carlo Cottarelli obtained a degree in Economics and Banking from the University of Siena in 1977 and a Master in Economics from the London School of Economics in 1981.

From 1981 to 1987 he worked at the Monetary Directorate of the Research Department of the Bank of Italy and from 1987 to 1988 he was head of the Economic Section of at the Research Department of ENI.

In 1988 he began his career at the International Monetary Fund, working in various departments (European Department, Fiscal Affairs Department, Money and Capital Markets Department, and Policy Development and Review Department). During this period, he was responsible for economic surveillance, technical assistance and lending in several advanced, emerging and developing countries, including: Italy, United Kingdom, Russia, Turkey, Portugal, Greece, Albania, Croatia, Hungary, Lebanon, Tajikistan and Serbia.

From 2008 to 2013 he was Director of the Fiscal Affairs Department of the International Monetary Fund. In 2013-2014 he was Commissioner for the Public Spending Review in Italy and from 2014-2017 he was Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund for Italy, Albania, Greece, Malta, Portugal and San Marino.

From October 2017 to September 2022 he was Director of the Observatory on Italian public accounts of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan, a position from which he resigned when he was elected as Senator of the Italian Republic on 25 September 2022.

From October 2017 to October 2020 he was Visiting Professor at Bocconi University, being responsible for the Fiscal Macroeconomics course, an elective course of the third undergraduate year, which he continued to teach in the following two academic years.

He resigned from the Senate in May 2023 and he is currently Director of the Educational Program for Economics and Social Sciences of the Catholic University, where he is also Adjunct Professor for the Fiscal Macroeconomic Course.

In November 2017 he received the Laurea Honoris Causa in Public Administration and Policies from the University of Genova.

In 2021 he was awarded the honor of First Class Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.

Mara Morini is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Genova, specializing in Russian politics and history. She authored the book La Russia di Putin published by Il Mulino. Additionally, she is a frequent commentator on Russian affairs for Italian television and newspapers.