Published on 2 February 2026

 

 

 

From July to December 2025, ICANN’s Middle East engagement focused on sustained, regionally grounded work aligned with the FY26–FY30 Strategic Plan.

 

Across 81 engagements in 14 countries, activities reached more than 2,500 stakeholders, with strong participation from academia, government, business, and the technical community. Engagements centered on evolving and securing the Internet’s unique identifier systems, advancing Universal Acceptance for domain names, and strengthening collaboration across the multistakeholder ecosystem, reflecting a shift toward deeper, outcome-oriented engagement across the region.

 

For more details, read the blog [nj88a9rab.cc.rs6.net] and the full report [nj88a9rab.cc.rs6.net].

 

By Baher Esmat

VP, Stakeholder Engagement - Middle East & Managing Director MEA, ICANN

 

 

FY26-FY30 Middle East Regional Plan

 

In July 2025, ICANN’s Middle East Global Stakeholder Engagement team released the ICANN Middle East Regional Plan for Fiscal Years 2026–2030 [nj88a9rab.cc.rs6.net], and the Implementation Plan for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 [nj88a9rab.cc.rs6.net].

 

The FY26–30 Middle East Regional Plan reflects the close collaboration between ICANN's Global Stakeholder Engagement (GSE) team in the Middle East and the region's community members. The FY26 Implementation Plan outlines specific activities for the first year and sets the foundation for tracking results and refining our approach over time.

 

For more information, read our blog [nj88a9rab.cc.rs6.net].

 

New Pathways for Local Stakeholder Engagement

 

In an effort to foster long-term strategic engagement with our stakeholders, we embarked on new initiatives that catered to their local needs and priorities.

 

 

First Internet Measurement Day in North Africa 

 

ICANN, along with the Réseaux IP Européens Network Coordination Centre, the African Network Information Centre, and the Internet Society, organized the first ever Internet Measurement Day in Africa in Tunisia in October 2025. These national events can provide insight into a country’s Internet ecosystem, helping guide more targeted and strategic engagement.

 

Technical Engagement with Jordanian Banks

 

A strategic, long term engagement with the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), completed over several months. This engagement involved webinars, taking the KINDNS assessment and running zonemaster, following up with banks on their KINDNS results, and finally organizing a DNSSEC hands-on workshop. This engagement included 19 KINDNS assessments taken, and marked the first initiative of its kind.

 

 

We appreciate your continued engagement,

as it strengthens the effectiveness and global relevance of everything we do.

 

 

 

 

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