Ambassador Ashraf Haidari is a distinguished diplomat and humanitarian leader, serving as the Founder and President of Displaced International (DI). From 2018 to 2022, he was Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Director-General of the South Asia Cooperative Environment Program (SACEP), leading initiatives on regional security, economic cooperation, climate resilience, and sustainable development. At Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he held key roles, including Director-General of Policy and Strategy and Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires at the Afghan Embassies in Delhi and Washington, D.C. His leadership is deeply shaped by his personal journey as a former refugee. Overcoming hardship as a street vendor, he worked with UNHCR and WFP, gaining firsthand experience in humanitarian crises. He earned a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations from Wabash College, followed by a Master’s in Security Studies at Georgetown University and a graduate certificate in Refugees, Migration, and Humanitarian Emergencies. Recognized for his expertise in forced displacement, peacebuilding, and post-conflict reconstruction, he has been awarded prestigious fellowships with Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, New America, and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and received the 2021 Roots of Peace Global Citizen Award. At DI, he advocates for policies empowering displaced populations worldwide and highlights their contributions to global stability. As an adjunct faculty member at Arizona State University and Georgetown University and a World in 2050 Senior Fellow at the Diplomatic Courier, he continues to shape international discourse on displacement, security, and development, emphasizing the potential of forcibly displaced individuals as valuable assets to host societies.
