Yasmin Ismail is a Senior Policy Advisor at The Forum on Trade, Environment & SDGs (TESS) and an independent expert on digital trade. She brings to TESS 15 years of combined work experience in project management, international relations and policy research in the fields of trade, law and development. Her research on trade and environment focused on interlinkages between the trade and climate change regimes and covered issues like special and differential treatment and common but differentiated responsibility, Aid for Trade and Climate Finance and integrating trade policies in Nationally Determined Contributions.

Prior to joining TESS, Yasmin was a programme officer at CUTS International Geneva, leading research projects and providing advisory services on WTO issues to various Geneva delegations and capital officials of developing and least-developed countries. She was also CUTS Geneva’s focal point for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and actively engaged in research and dialogues on climate change negotiations and their implications on trade. Previously, She served as MENA Projects Manager at Global Partners Governance, a London-based international consultancy on strengthening political institutions and International Cooperation Specialist at the Egyptian Cabinet Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC).

Yasmin has been a consultant to a range of non-governmental and international organisations, including the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), DiploFoundation and the European University Institute (EUI).

She is a PhD candidate in Law at the University of Lucerne in Switzerland and holds two master's degrees in Economics of Development and in International and European Law from the University of Grenoble-Alpes in France. She is fluent in Arabic, English and French.

Selected Publications

Ismail, Y. & Bhagat, V. (2023). Make a Difference! Differential Treatment of Developing Countries in Trade and Climate Change Regimes. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V. & CUTS International, Geneva.

Ismail, Y. & Hammoud, G. (2023). E-commerce and LDCs: The different speeds of greater integration. Hinrich Foundation.

Ismail, Y. (2023). The Evolving Context and Dynamics of the WTO Joint Initiative on E-commerce: The fifth-year stocktake and prospects for 2023. International Institute for Development Studies (IISD) and CUTS International, Geneva

Clarisse Uy, Serena & Ismail, Y. (2022). Climate Finance: What to Expect from COP27? CUTS International, Geneva.

Ismail, Y. (2022). COP27: A step towards bringing overdue justice to the most vulnerable. CUTS International, Geneva

Ismail, Y. (2020). E-commerce in the World Trade Organization: History and latest developments in the negotiations under the Joint Statement. International Institute for Development Studies (IISD) and CUTS International, Geneva

Ismail, Y. (2019). Assessing Climate Adaptation in Agriculture: Setting the EAC scene and remaining needs. CUTS International, Geneva.