Dr. Mirwais Balkhi is a Visiting Fellow at NIICE. His research focus are Regional Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Foreign Policy, Nation-State Building, International Theory and International Security. He is also a Faculty Member at Georgetown University, Qatar. Dr. Mirwais Balkhi joined the Ministry of Education of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in 2018 as the Minister of Education. He holds PhD in International Relations (with specialisation in West Asian Studies) from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. He has published numerous academic articles both in English and Persian; including the books “Saudi Arab’s Foreign Policy towards Afghanistan; 1991-2014”, “Balkhis of India” and “A Critique on Afghanistan’s Regional Integration”. Dr. Balkhi has also edited the book ‘Afghanistan After 2014’. Dr. Balkhi has also worked as the Deputy Ambassador (DCM) of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in New Delhi and previously as the head of Africa and Middle East Desk in the Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) and as the Chief Editor of the CSS’ Quarterly Journal of Strategic Studies at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to joining the CSS, Dr. Balkhi was a lecturer at the Law and Political Science Faculty at American University of Afghanistan & several other Private Universities.