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About Us

The Baani Centre for International Policy is a think tank based in the Maldives that provides a perspective on international issues from the viewpoint of small island states.

Areas of Focus

Connectivity

Democracy

Environment

"BAANI"

Baani is a Dhivehi word that means ‘ocean swell’ or ‘ocean tide’. Historically, Maldivians have tried to ascertain if a Baani will be a ‘good Baani’, bringing fish, good sailing winds, perhaps seafarers from abroad with happy news, or a ‘bad Baani’ — an overly powerful swell that can develop into a tsunami, and inundate the islands, often without warning.

Small island states, such as the Maldives, often face challenges that come from across the seas and can bring opportunity — or trouble. From climate change, to trade; from foreign investment to exports of ‘dictatorship best practice’, the Baani Centre for International Policy gets to the bottom of the latest political currents.

Board Members

Thoriq Hamid

Chairperson, Founding Member + Board Member

Thoriq has a comprehensive understanding of Maldivian media, politics and civil society. He worked in a leadership position in a prominent international NGO, based in the Maldives, for over eight years and has extensive experience in communications and project management.

He is adept at providing political analysis for donors, diplomats and international organisations, as well as engaging with political leaders, civil society, and journalists within the Maldives and abroad. He has an excellent understanding of the governance and human rights issues facing the Maldives, and significant management and fundraising experience.

Thoriq is also a founding partner of Atoll Communications – a PR and communications firm based in the Maldives.

Aishath Shazra​

Vice-chairperson, Founding Member + Board Member​

Shazra is a Maldivian journalist and fixer with over 10 years’ experience reporting on social, cultural, artistic and environmental issues for Maldivian news publications, including the Maldives Independent and Mihaaru.

A fluent Hindi and French speaker, Shazra has a well-honed understanding and appreciation of the social and cultural trends affecting the Maldives, and the public’s reaction to these trends.

She was the Producer of the 2009 documentary about President Nasheed’s administration, The Island President, and has a good understanding of the Maldivian social media landscape.

Safa Shareef​

Secretary + Board Member​

Safa, a partner at Hisaan & Safa LLP and a former Deputy State Attorney at the Attorney General’s Office, is an experienced lawyer who has worked on numerous high-profile human rights cases in the Maldives, representing senior politicians, Members of Parliament, as well as the families of murdered blogger Yameen Rasheed and disappeared journalist Ahmed Rilwan.


Safa was a member of the legal team representing President Mohamed Nasheed in his alleged terrorism case in 2015 and 2016, alongside international lawyers Amal Clooney and Jared Genser that eventually led to his freedom.

Safa has provided legal consultancy to a wide range of clients, including the United Nations Development Programme, and holds a Masters of International Legal Studies from the American University in Washington DC, and a Bachelor of Law from the International Islamic University of Malaysia. She also serves as a Director of the Maldives International Arbitration Center.

Arshad Jameel​

Treasurer + Board Member​

Arshad has significant public sector experience working at the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, and was the lead official who reformed and developed the new tax system in the Maldives.


From 2008 to 2011, as a consultant for the President’s Office, he led the team that introduced the General Services Tax and Business Profit Tax for the first time in the Maldives. In 2019, he worked as a consultant to the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, leading the work to introduce Income Tax for the first time in the Maldives.


Arshad also has significant experience in the NGO sector. He worked as a Finance Consultant for ActionAid International following the 2004 Asian Tsunami. He also served on the board of Maldivian Democracy Network and local child rights NGO, Advocating for the Rights of Children (ARC).


Arshad also runs his own business consultancy firm, providing market research, financial planning and business development services to the Maldivian business community.

Paul Roberts​

Member​

Paul is a British communications expert specialising in strategy, framing, messaging and crisis communications. He has extensive expertise working in the Maldives and Asia, on issues including foreign policy, climate diplomacy, renewable energy policy, and democracy and governance.

For over ten years, Paul has served as communications advisor to President Mohamed Nasheed, helping him to build an exceptional international profile. Paul played a key role in orchestrating world-renowned media events such as the Maldives’ underwater cabinet meeting, and spearheaded the country’s prominent international climate change advocacy agenda. For over three years, Paul also provided daily strategic and crisis communications advice to the Head of Government of a South East Asian country.

Paul is a founder of Atoll Communications, a Maldivian PR and communications firm. He is also COO of the Maldives Coral Institute.

Andrew Small​

Member​

Andrew Small is a senior transatlantic fellow with the Asia program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. He has worked on foreign and economic policy issues in Beijing, Brussels, Berlin, London, and Washington D.C. His research focuses on U.S.-China relations, Europe-China relations, China in South Asia, and broader developments in Chinese foreign and economic policy.

He previously worked as the director of the Foreign Policy Centre’s Beijing office; as a fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Australia National University’s National Security College; and was an ESU scholar in the office of Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

His articles and papers have been published in Foreign Affairs, the New York Times, Foreign Policy, and the Washington Quarterly, as well as many other journals, magazines and newspapers.