Collaborative Approach to Trade : Enhancing Connectivity in Sea- and Land-locked Countries

Francesca Romana Medda is a Professor of Applied Economics and Finance at the University College London (UCL). From 2010 she is the Director of the UCL QASER (Quantitative and Applied Spatial Economics Research) Laboratory. Since 2012 she serves as economic adviser to the UK Ministry of Environment and Agriculture (Defra) and in 2014 at the Ministry of Finance (HM Treasury). She is Vice-President of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee. Her research focuses on project finance, innovative financial mechanisms and risk evaluation in different infrastructure sectors such as: transport industry, energy innovation and new technologies, urban investments (smart cities), supply chain provision and optimisation, and efficiency. Her work is published in leading academic and practitioner journals. She has worked and works actively with the private and public sector including The European Investment Bank, The World Bank, UNESCO, UN-Habitat, WILLIS Re, HALCROW, and UITP.