CoSAI Commissioner Akiça Bahri joins the new Tunisian government as Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries. Dr. Bahri was sworn in on September 2nd, 2020 under the new Tunisian government headed by Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, along with 24 other Ministers and 3 Secretaries of State.
Dr. Bahri previously served as Secretary of State for Water Resources in the government of Tunisia. Prior to this, she was a Professor at the National Agricultural Institute of Tunisia (INAT) and earlier she worked as Coordinator of the African Water Facility at the African Development Bank; as Director for Africa at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI); and as Director of Research at the National Research Institute for Agricultural Engineering, Water, and Forestry in Tunisia (INRGREF). Akissa has worked in water research in the fields of water resources management and agricultural use of marginal waters and biosolids. She has authored over 100 research and policy papers and reports in the areas of integrated water resources management, water and soil management, wastewater reuse and recovery and related fields.
Dr. Bahri has been a CoSAI Commissioner since March 2020 and is contributing to work on Sustainable Agriculture Intensification (SAI) and the environment, focusing on issues related to water resources and water management.