The FAO’s Regional Office for Near East and North Africa (RNE), the Strategic Foresight pillar of the Agrifood Economics and Policy (ESA-SF) Division, and the Office of Strategy, Programme and Budget (OSP), will convene FAO colleagues and regional experts to carry out strategic foresight expert consultation, 7-9 October 2025, in Amman, Jordan, to validate findings of the Regional Strategic Foresight Report (RSFR) for the Near East and North Africa region (NENA) – planned output of the FAO Regional Foresight Exercises (RFEs) that began in late 2023 with the same stakeholders. The goals of the validation expert consultation are as follows:

1. Present selected findings of the draft RSFR for NENA, namely, on regional long-term trends of priority drivers related weak signals, on regional future scenarios, challenges, triggers for transformation and strategic policy options.
2. Emphasise and focus the feedback discussion on regional perpetuated and emerging challenges and their origins, and on game-changing strategic policy options to trigger transformation in the region, as this final consultation will focus on getting key feedback for these last sections of the RSFR.
3. Investigate current and future cross-regional interdependences, including possible future interdependences between high-income and low-and middle-income countries may contribute to move global and regional agrifood systems towards alternative futures.
4. Gather visions and knowledge from regional experts on the above to improve and finalize the RSFR for NENA;
5. Take the opportunity to feed into strategic thinking and actions of FAO at all levels, in particular, for FAO’s regional foresight work, FAO’s regional programmes and priorities and Members’ strategies and policies, connected to the preparation for the Regional Conference in 2026.