Senior Director, Head of International Organizations, Israel Innovation Authority

Lior Yafe is a former economic diplomat and policy strategist who now serves as Senior Director, Head of International Organizations at the Israel Innovation Authority. In this role, he leads Israel’s strategic engagement with multilateral bodies, shapes global partnerships in science, technology, and innovation, and promotes Israel’s leadership in the international innovation ecosystem. Lior oversees collaborations with key global institutions, advances regulatory and strategic alignment with international innovation frameworks, and develops cross-border initiatives that strengthen Israel’s competitiveness and global impact.

Before joining the Innovation Authority, Lior served as Economic Consul and Head of the Economy and Trade Mission at the Embassy of Israel in Mexico, where he designed and executed Israel’s foreign trade strategy in the Mexican market, strengthened bilateral economic ties, and led a team of six Trade Officers.

Previously, Lior served as Deputy Director at the World Trade Organization Department in the Ministry of Economy and Industry, where he facilitated Israel’s accession to the WTO Electronic Trade Agreement, led technical negotiations on trade barriers and tariff-rate quotas, represented Israel in international discussions, and contributed to national policy reports on market access and regulatory reform.

Earlier in his career, he held strategic and legal positions including Director of Strategy at Invest in Israel, Chief Legal Assistant at both the Prime Minister Office and the Ministry of Defence, and served as a legal clerk at the State Attorney’s Office, representing government agencies before the Supreme Court.

Lior also founded Noknok, an innovative caller-ID application that provided advanced identification capabilities for incoming calls.

Lior holds an M.P.A. from Harvard Kennedy School, an M.A. in Political Science and international relations (magna cum laude) from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a dual bachelor degree in law (LL.B.) and Political Science from Tel Aviv University. He has completed a number of executive programs and professional training in diplomacy, public service delivery, and economic strategy.

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