Dr. Nibal Idlebi is Chief of Innovation at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA), and a senior policy expert in ICT, knowledge economy, and Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) for sustainable development. She specializes in digital transformation policy, including e-government, Arabic digital content, and cyber legislation. Dr. Idlebi leads regional projects on innovation policy, entrepreneurship, and technology for development, and serves on multiple UN working groups and committees. She is also a jury member for awards like the L’OREAL-UNESCO Award “For Women in Science” and the World Summit Award.

In recent years, she has focused on innovation policy’s role in social and economic development. In 2019, she led ESCWA’s study on “Arab Horizon 2030” and reports on “Innovation and Entrepreneurship” for Arab youth and women, emphasizing the importance of innovation for job creation and regional development.

Before joining ESCWA, Dr. Idlebi was Deputy Minister at Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Technology (2002–2004), where she supervised ICT activities, helped formulate the National ICT Strategy, and coordinated a UNDP-backed ICT development program.