Ms. Arzula Elmi is currently a Senior Fellow at Afghanistan House. Prior to fleeing after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Ms. Elmi was a career diplomat with more than 10 years of extensive experience in diplomacy and international relations. From 2018-2021, she served as the Deputy Director of the Second Political Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan where she played a crucial role in establishing and implementing bilateral agreements between Afghanistan and Turkey and ensuring their successful implementation. From 2015-2018, Ms. Elmi served as the Second Secretary of the Embassy of Afghanistan in Ankara, Turkey. Prior to joining the Embassy in Ankara, from 2011-2015, she served as a Desk Officer for WHO, UNICEF and ICRC at the United Nations and International Organizations Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ms. Elmi holds an MA in International Relations from Ankara University SBF (2011) and a BA in Journalism from the School of Journalism at Balkh University, Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan (2008).