TRENDS Research & Advisory, through its Virtual Office in Rome, has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI) in Rome.

The agreement aims to strengthen academic and research collaboration in fields including research, studies, opinion polling, training, development, consultancy, and forward-looking studies that promote peace and tolerance and foster constructive intellectual dialogue.

The memorandum was signed by Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al Ali, CEO of TRENDS, and Professor Wasim Salman, President of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, in the presence of Abdulla Ali Al Sibousi, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Italy; Monsignor Dr. Yoannis Lahzi Gaid, member of the Vatican Secretariat of State for General Affairs and Representative of the Holy See to the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity; along with several experts and researchers from both sides.

The signing underscores the institutions’ shared commitment to knowledge exchange and mutual understanding through objective study of regional and global issues. Cooperation will include organising conferences and workshops, conducting joint research, exchanging expertise, and developing intellectual programmes.

Dr. Al Ali said the memorandum opens new horizons for partnership in scientific research and the study of contemporary intellectual and social issues, focusing on peace and intercultural coexistence. He added that both sides will strengthen cooperation through researcher exchanges, joint publications in Arabic and English, and the use of their academic platforms to share results and insights.

Professor Salman said the partnership will enrich intercultural dialogue and highlight shared human values, particularly amid global challenges that call for deeper collective understanding.

He noted that the agreement comes at a time of rapid international change, emphasising the need for collaboration in analysing regional and global developments and offering innovative, objective interpretations of political, social, and intellectual phenomena.