Rula Dajani Bio

Rula Dajani

Board Member
Co-Chair, Banking & Finance Sector Committee 
AmCham Abu Dhabi

Head of Government Affairs, MENA 
Citibank

Rula Dajani is Citi’s Head of Government Affairs for the Middle East and Africa region. Based in Dubai, Rula drives Citi’s engagement with government officials, regulators and stakeholders and is responsible for geopolitical analysis, policy advocacy and managing Citi’s relationships with key trade associations, political stakeholders and institutions across 27 markets of the region.

Rula is a seasoned government relations and public policy strategist with 30 plus years of experience in managing organizations and leading teams. Before joining Citi in 2022, Rula was the Country Director of Amideast serving as the most senior representative in UAE. She was responsible for managing and growing the business by strategically partnering with senior UAE government officials, legislatures, foreign missions’ representatives, key multinational partners, trade associations and chambers of commerce.

Prior to this role, Rula managed numerous USAID and EU funded programs in Egypt, Jordan and Palestine, primarily engaged in designing and implementing advocacy and communication strategies for key clients including the Government of Jordan, the Arab League, International Consulting firms and prominent civil society organizations across the MENA region. In Egypt, Rula worked for the US Embassy providing geopolitical assessments, due diligence, political and economic risk analysis. In Washington DC, Rula held the position of a deputy bureau chief of a major Pan Arab Satellite Channel and was responsible for programming, Presidential Election campaigns and debates coverage, government relations and advocacy.

Since January 2024 Rula is a new co-head for UAE Citi Women Inclusion Network that is a critical part of Citi global diversity and inclusion strategy and is an elected board member of American Chamber of Commerce in Abu Dhabi. She is a member of several committees including US-UAE Public Affairs Committee, Finance and Banking Committee, Climate and Sustainability Committee and the Human Resource Committee. She is also involved in several community organizations in the UAE, Jordan, Palestine, and Washington DC where she lived and worked. 

A US citizen with a passion for travel and cycling, Rula attained a Master’s in Public Administration (MPA) from George Mason University. She is a single mom of one daughter, Rawan.