National Affairs Forum (NAF)

Head of Delegation in Myanmar
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Before his appointment as ICRC resident representative in Myanmar in August 2018, Sakalian was based at the ICRC headquarters in Geneva. Between September 2015 and June 2018, he held the position of operations coordinator for the Americas, with a special focus on activities in the United States, Mexico, Central America, Haiti and Cuba and later, regional director for the Americas in charge of operations and humanitarian diplomacy in the Western Hemisphere. Prior to Geneva, he headed the ICRC project on armed violence in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, headed the sub-delegation in Nyala, Sudan and acted as adviser for multilateral affairs in Asia-Pacific based in Malaysia. 

Professor, Department of Political Science
University of the Philippines-Diliman;
Fellow, Asia Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation (APPFI)
The Philippines

Kraft is a professor of political science at the University of the Philippines at Diliman, Quezon City. He has been working on issues that involve Asean, regional security in Southeast Asia, security sector reform, and intra-state conflict in the Philippines. His latest publications include Great Power Dynamics and the Waning of Asean Centrality in Regional Security (2017); Philippine Foreign Policy in a Changed Strategic Environment: The Duterte Administration and China (2018); Asean and the Protection of Migrant Rights (2019); and Korea’s New Southern Policy, Asean, and the Philippines: Middle Power Dynamics in Southeast Asia (2020). 

Senior Research Fellow
Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Indonesia

Rizal is a senior research fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia. Previously, he was Indonesia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Ireland and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), London, from 2016 to 2020. He joined CSIS in 1990 as a researcher and assumed the role of executive director in 2009 until 2015. He has worked extensively on such issues as Southeast Asian security, ASEAN, Indonesia’s defence and foreign policy, military reform, Islam and politics, and domestic political changes in Indonesia. He was the first Indonesian to receive the Nakasone Award in July 2005 and named as one the 100 Global Thinkers in 2009 by Foreign Policy magazine.

Nguyen is associate professor of political science at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV) and also deputy director-general of the DAV East Sea (South China Sea) Institute. Nguyen holds a PhD in politics from the University of New South Wales and was the counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations (New York) from 2016 to 2019. His research interests include international relations in the Indo-Pacific, security and maritime issues in Southeast Asia, and foreign policy of Vietnam.

Group Chief Risk & Compliance Officer
Axiata Group Berhad
Malaysia

Abid Adam is the Axiata Group chief risk & compliance officer (GCRCO), responsible for providing strategic direction, implementation, oversight and guidance for cybersecurity, data privacy, enterprise risk management, and compliance/ethics across Southeast Asia. Before joining Axiata, Adam led cybersecurity function and implemented transformational programmes for a large multi-national financial services organisation spanning across Africa, Asia and Latin. Adam also serves at the World Economic Forum Digital Asean initiative and is a member of leading global institutions, such as ISC2 and ISACA, and sits on customer advisory boards and community forums of leading organisations.

Senior Fellow for Southeast Asia;
Director, Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative
Centre for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS)
United States of America

Gregory B Poling is a senior fellow for Southeast Asia and director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at CSIS. He oversees research on US foreign policy in Asia-Pacific, with a particular focus on the maritime domain and the countries of Southeast Asia. His research interests include the South China Sea disputes, democratisation in Southeast Asia and Asian multilateralism. Poling’s writings have been featured in Foreign Affairs, The Wall Street Journal, Nikkei Asian Review and Foreign Policy, among others. He is the author or co-author of multiple works, including The Thickening Web of Asian Security Cooperation: Deepening Defence Ties among US Allies and Partners in the Indo-Pacific and Building a More Robust US-Philippines Alliance.

Editor-at-Large, Nikkei Asian Review;
Senior Fellow, Institute of Security and International Studies (ISIS) Thailand
Thailand

Gwen Robinson is a senior fellow, Institute of Security and International Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, specialising in regional security and economic issues with a focus on Myanmar. She is also editor-at-large at Nikkei Asian Review, a journal of Asian affairs. She was previously a correspondent and editor with Financial Times in Europe, America and Asia (1995-2013), covering Southeast Asia in 2011-14.

Professor of International Relations;
Head of Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS)
Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
Singapore

Mely Caballero-Anthony is professor of international relations and president’s chair for international relations and security studies. She is also head of the Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. She teaches courses on non-traditional security in Asia and security governance and has served as the secretary-general of the Consortium on Non-Traditional Security Studies in Asia since 2008. Her research interests include regionalism and multilateralism in Asia-Pacific, global governance, human security and non-traditional security, nuclear security and conflict prevention. Her latest books include Negotiating Governance on Non-Traditional Security in Southeast Asia and Beyond, An Introduction to Non-Traditional Security Studies and Asia on the Move: Regional Migration and the Role of Civil Society.

Richard Maude is executive director of policy at Asia Society Australia and senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute. He has more than 30 years’ experience in foreign policy and national security. From 2018 to 2019, Maude was deputy secretary, Indo-Pacific Group, in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Australia’s senior official to the East Asia Summit. In 2017, he headed the task force on the preparation of the government’s 2017 foreign policy white paper. Maude was director-general of the Office of National Assessments from May 2013 until November 2016 and has served as the senior adviser on foreign policy and national security issues to former prime minister Julia Gillard.

Asyura Salleh is the co-founder of the Global Awareness & Impact Alliance (GAIA). She is also a non-resident Vasey research fellow for the Pacific Forum, and the special adviser on maritime security for the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Affairs (YCAPS). Her policy experience lies in her work for the UNODC global maritime crime programme, Stable Seas and Brunei Prime Minister’s Office. Asyura’s research interest lies in maritime security in the Asia-Pacific, with a focus on transnational maritime crime and maritime governance. She holds a master’s in war studies from King’s College London and earned a doctorate in international relations from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore.

Executive Director
Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP)
Cambodia

Sothirak has been the executive director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace since June 2013. As of February 2014, he also served as advisor to the government. He was appointed as secretary of state of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation from September 2013 to January 2014, ambassador to Japan between 2005 and 2008, served as MP in 1993 and 2003, and minister of industry mines and energy from 1993 to 1998. Sothirak was the visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore from 2009 to 2012. He has written extensively on various issues confronting the development of Cambodia and the region.

Director, Centre for Strategic Studies;
Professor, School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations
Victoria University of Wellington
New Zealand

David Capie is professor of international relations and director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. His research interests focus on conflict and security issues, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, and New Zealand’s foreign and defence policy. David has held visiting positions at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University and at LUIS Guido Carli in Rome. He is currently regional co-chair of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific (CSCAP) and was a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum Experts and Eminent Persons Group from 2012 to 2019. 

Head
Department of International Relations
Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Indonesia

Shafiah is the head of Department of International Relations, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia. She was a senior fellow at the maritime security programme, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) Singapore from January to December 2017. She has done and taken part in extensive research projects on politics and regional security in Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific since 2000. She has special interest in issues of regional security in East Asia, maritime security, Indonesia’s foreign policy and regional cooperation. She was the chief editor of The Indonesian Quarterly, an academic journal published by CSIS, from 2013 to 2016. 

Director
Institute of Security and International Studies (ISIS) Thailand
Thailand

Thitinan is professor and director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University. He has authored a range of articles, books, chapters and more than 1,000 op-eds in international and local media. Thitinan regularly provides briefings to investors, business conferences, diplomatic missions, and corporate boards on the domestic politics and geopolitics of Thailand and ASEAN. In March 2018, he was appointed ASEAN@50 fellow and in May 2019, he was selected as Australia-ASEAN fellow at Sydney’s Lowy Institute. Thitinan has held visiting positions at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Stanford University, Yangon University and University of Tubingen in Germany.

Public Policy Manager
Google
Singapore

Bauer is Google’s head of public policy for Malaysia and South Asia (excluding India). He leads Google’s work with policymakers, government officials and key political stakeholders in those countries. Before starting his current role in October 2017, Bauer spent three years working in Google’s Washington, DC office. He also previously worked on president Barack Obama’s re-election campaign and as a paralegal at a law firm representing political candidates and parties.

Deputy Director of Research
Khazanah Research Institute (KRI)
Malaysia

Sarena is a deputy director of research at Khazanah Research Institute (KRI). She has a PhD in plant sciences from the University of Oxford. Her PhD used genetic technologies to understand disease control affecting the globally important crop: rice. Due to her interests in agriculture and food security, Sarena is currently conducting policy research at KRI related to food security and agriculture.

Graduate School of Law and Politics
Kobe University
Japan

Tosh Minohara is professor of international relations and security studies at the Graduate School of Law and Politics, Kobe University. He is the founder and chairman of the non-profit organisation, Research Institute of Indo-Pacific Affairs (RIIPA). He currently serves as a senior adviser to the international media consulting firm KREAB. His core academic interests deal with the diplomatic, political and security dimension of US-Japan relations. Minohara is the author and editor of multiple monographs, volumes and articles, including op-eds with the official LDP newspaper, Jiyuminshu, as well as Sankei Shimbun. He is the recipient of the Shimizu Hiroshi Prize (2002) and the Japan Research Award (2019).

Chairman
Singapore Institute of International Affairs
Singapore

Simon SC Tay is a public intellectual and adviser to major corporations and policymakers. He is currently chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, a globally ranked think-tank; associate professor at the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law; senior consultant with WongPartnership, a leading regional law firm; and ambassador for Singapore. He has taught at Harvard Law School and Yale University, served on boards for leading global companies, including MUFG Bank of Japan, Toyota Japan and Deutsche Boerse (Asia), and corporate adviser to Temasek Holdings. He has also served Singapore as chairman of the National Environment Agency and nominated MP.

Assistant Director
Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology Branch
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Australia

Working for the ambassador for cyber affairs, Whitworth focuses on multilateral cyber policy, particularly Australia’s engagement in UN processes on international law and norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace. She served as Australia’s lead negotiator for a protocol to the Budapest convention on cybercrime to provide transborder access to data, and as the cybercrime expert to the UN. Her previous experience at the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department and Department of Home Affairs focused on cybercrime law reform, telecommunications security policy and combatting online child exploitation. Whitworth holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Technology Sydney and a Bachelor of Science from the University of New South Wales.

President
National Institute for South China Sea Studies
People’s Republic of China

Wu Shicun is president and senior research fellow of China’s National Institute for South China Sea Studies. He also serves as chairman of board of directors of the China-Southeast Asia Research Centre on the South China Sea, chairman of the advisory board of Institute for China-America Studies, vice-president of the China Institute for Free Trade Ports Studies, deputy director of the Collaborative Innovation Centre of South China Sea Studies, Nanjing University, and adjunct professor of Nanjing University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. His research interests cover the history and geography of the South China Sea, maritime delimitation, maritime economy, international relations and regional security strategy.

Senior Lecturer
Centre for Defence and Security Studies
Massey University
New Zealand

Anna Powles is a senior lecturer at the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at Massey University. She specialises in geopolitical and security issues in the Pacific region and her current research examines New Zealand foreign and security policy in the Pacific; the Australia-New Zealand alliance in the Pacific; non-state security actors and security cooperation in the Pacific; and foreign interference in the Pacific. Powles is an associate scholar with the MacMillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Canterbury, and has previously held visiting fellowships with the East-West Centre in Honolulu.

Director General
International Vaccine Institute
Republic of Korea

Jerome Kim, MD, is an international expert on the evaluation and development of vaccines and is the director-general of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver safe, effective and affordable vaccines for global health. IVI’s oral cholera vaccine is used around the world to prevent this deadly diarrhoeal disease. Its typhoid conjugate vaccine, tech-transferred to SK bioscience and PT Bio Farma, is completing phase III testing. Dr Kim is also an adjunct professor, Department of Medicine, Uniformed Services University and at the Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University. He has authored more than 300 publications.

Ms. Ivy Kwek is the Research Director for Research for Social Advancement (REFSA), a progressive, not-for-profit think-tank in Malaysia; and concurrently a Visiting Scholar at the Center of Southeast Asian Studies, National ChengChi University of Taiwan. Prior to this, she was the Special Functions Officer to the Deputy Minister of Defence of Malaysia (2018-2020), during which she  was involved in the drafting of the first Malaysian Defence White Paper. She also has experience working in various policy advisory and governmental affairs roles for international organizations and in diplomatic circle, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and in the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.  

Ivy holds a MA in International Studies and Diplomacy from SOAS, University of London and was an alumna of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Professional Fellows Program by the US Department of State. She is also a co-founder of Projek Pertiwi, a blog dedicated to raising awareness on defence and security issues among Malaysian youth, and have frequently commented and published on current affairs on various international and local media outlets. 

Dr Satu Limaye is Vice-President of the East West Center (EWC), serving concurrently as Director EWC in Washington and theAsia Matters for America initiative. He is Founding Editor of theAsia Pacific Bulletin. He is also Senior Advisor, Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) and Senior Fellow on Asia History and Policy at the Foreign Policy Institute at Paul H.Nitze School of International Studies (SAIS). 

He is a graduate of Georgetown University and received his doctorate from Oxford University (Magdalen College) as a George C. Marshall Scholar. He publishes and speaks widely on Asia-Pacific regional issues and supports various US government, foundation, fellowship and professional organizations. Among his current affiliations are the Korea Economic Institute (KEI) Advisory Council and The Asia Foundation Task Force on US-Southeast Asia Relations. 

Ms Kendra Rinas has served as chief of mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Kuala Lumpur from May 2018. She has over 15 years of experience working with refugees and migrants, managing migration initiatives including labour migration, refugee resettlement, health assessments, counter trafficking and anti-smuggling, and partnering with governments and NGOs on promoting well-managed migration.

Rinas previously served as head of IOM’s sub-office in Damak and head of refugee resettlement for South Asia, also based in Nepal.

Prior to joining IOM, she was operations coordinator with the Resettlement Support Center Africa, based in Kenya; country coordinator in N’djamena, Chad; and processing supervisor in Accra, Ghana. Rinas obtained her MS in Organizational Leadership from Quinnipiac University School of Business, and BA in Political Science and Religion from Gustavus Adolphus College, St Peter, Minnesota.

Shahriman Lockman is a Director in the Chief Executive’s Office of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Malaysia. His research interests include Malaysian foreign and defence policies, Southeast Asian maritime security affairs, and Malaysia-China relations, including in the context of the South China Sea. He also manages the institute’s China Engagement Initiative, which promotes Track 2 dialogue between Malaysia and China. Shahriman was a consultant to the Ministry of Defence on Malaysia’s inaugural Defence White Paper (2019), specifically on budgeting and implementation issues. He was also Malaysia’s representative in an academic assessment of common security challenges impacting the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) nations for the period 2020-2031 for the FPDA Policy Group (FPG). Shahriman is a member of the Malaysian chapter of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP). He has a Master of Strategic Affairs from the Australian National University.

Thomas is a Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy and Security Studies Programme of ISIS Malaysia. His interests lie in the security/strategic challenges and impacts of major power dynamics on ASEAN and its member states, the South China Sea dispute, and Malaysia’s national security and foreign policies. Thomas also looks at the policy implications of refugees, asylum seekers and other displaced persons in Malaysia, and the Malaysian government’s refugee policy of “not having a policy”.

Thomas obtained his Master of Arts in International Studies from the University of Nottingham (Malaysia) where he graduated with Distinction, completing a dissertation that assessed Malaysia’s responses to China in the South China Sea dispute through the balance of threat approach. He also holds a BA in Communication and Media Management, and a BA Honours in Communication, Media & Culture from the University of South Australia. Previously, he was a public relations practitioner focusing on social media management and media engagement strategies for clients from the government and enterprise technology sectors.

Ms Angeline Tan is a Researcher in the Foreign Policy and Security Studies programme in ISIS Malaysia. Her research interests include Chinese Foreign Policy, the Belt and Road Initiative in Southeast Asia, Sino-Japanese relations, and the geopolitics of Climate Change. She graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science with a Masters in International Relations. She completed her Bachelors in International Relations from the War Studies Department in King’s College London.

Barney has a legal background and practiced commercial law for six years before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2001.  During his time in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade he has worked on a wide range of issues, from trade negotiations to climate change and international law.  Previous appointments include postings to the New Zealand embassies in Tehran and Geneva, and Ambassador to Egypt in 2014-2018 (where he was also non-resident Ambassador to Algeria, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, and New Zealand Representative to Palestine).

Barney is currently a Lead Negotiator in the MFAT’s Trade and Economic Group, responsible for New Zealand’s trade negotiations with China, as well as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).  His previous role in Wellington was the Manager of the Trade Law Unit in the Ministry’s Legal Division.  The Trade Law Unit provides legal support in trade negotiations, advice about the consistency of New Zealand policy with our international trade law obligations, and leads New Zealand efforts to resolve trade disputes through international dispute settlement processes. 

Barney attended the University of Otago in New Zealand where he obtained a Bachelor of Laws with Honours, and completed his Professional Legal Studies in Wellington where he was admitted to the Bar in 1995.

Dr Narongchai, a Thai economist / technocrat, is known for his continuous involvement in the economic development of Thailand in many capacities, and in ASEAN and APEC affairs. He had previously served in the Thai government, including as Advisor to several Thai prime ministers, Minister of Energy, Minister of Commerce, as well as Senator and a member of the National Legislative Assembly. He has worked on ASEAN and APEC affairs all along, being an initiator of AFTA and the APEC Leaders Meeting. He has also served as Chairman of the Thailand Committee for PECC. Dr Narongchai is on the board of several publicly listed companies in Thailand, and was also Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of Thailand. Having graduated with a PhD in Economics from Johns Hopkins University, Dr Narongchai has a keen interest in education and research. He is the founding member of Thailand Development Research Institute and is Chairman of the Khon Kaen University Council.

Dato’ Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali is Senior Minister and Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI). In his previous portfolio as Minister of Economic Affairs (May 2018-February 2020), Azmin was instrumental in introducing the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030. He oversaw a broad spectrum of agencies including those directly involved in infrastructure, wealth creation and redistribution, private equity ownership and the short as well as mid-term economic planning and implementation of the country’s socio-economic development. During his tenure as Chief Minister of Selangor (2014-2018), he was instrumental in placing Selangor more prominently on the regional map after having maintained the state as the biggest contributor to the national GDP. Azmin is a member of the Economic Action Council (EAC) and is also on the Board of Directors of Khazanah Nasional Berhad. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Mathematics and a Master’s degree in Education and Economics from the University of Minnesota.

Shanti Jagannathan is Principal Education Specialist in the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department of Asian Development Bank (ADB). She works on ADB education sector policies and strategies, and provides technical advice to ADB’s lending and non-lending education operations in the Asia and Pacific region. Shanti has over 25 years of experience with education sector transformation initiatives and reforms in school education, technical and vocational education, and training and higher education in Asia. She has led policy research studies on skills for greening economies, Asia’s knowledge-based economies, innovation and implications of industry 4.0 on education and training, among others. Shanti has contributed to international cooperation in education at policy and operational levels, and has been on advisory bodies, steering committees and working groups on education development, gender equality, elimination of child labour, democracy and human rights, and scholarships for underprivileged students.

Mohammad Manzur Rahman is the founding director for Marketing and Innovation at Aspirasi, a fintech specialising in micro-financing and micro-insurance, a subsidiary of the regional leader Axiata Group. Manzur has spent over a decade in the mobile telecom industry as well as in the government sector, leading design, implementation and deployment of digital financial services, brands and solutions across various countries in Asia. He is also a business graduate from NSU and has attended executive education programmes at London Business School, INSEAD and IMD. Manzur is currently based in Washington, DC.

Sharifah Najwa Syed Abu Bakar is Chief Officer of Knowledge Management and Strategy Division, SME Corporation Malaysia, a central coordination agency for SME development under the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (MEDAC). Her current role includes working closely with local and international stakeholders in analysing and formulating SME development policies, as well as coordinating SME development across government ministries, agencies, the private sector and various regional and international platforms, such as ASEAN, APEC, UN, OECD, and OIC, among others. She has extensive experience in various international trade negotiations. She is Lead Negotiator for Malaysia for Economic and Technical Cooperation as well as the SME Working Committee for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). She is also involved in designing various developmental programmes to facilitate internationalisation of SMEs in Malaysia and the region. She has been working in partnership with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in carrying out the Third Country Training Programme (TCTP).

Dr Naoko Iwasaki is Professor at the Institute of e-Government in Waseda University, President of International Academy of CIO (IAC), and Deputy Director of APEC e-Government Research Center. Dr Iwasaki’s research areas are CIO, D-Government, ageing society and ICT, and smart digital city. She received her Master of International Relations and PhD of Global ICT from Waseda University. She has been project overseer of APEC project on “Smart Silver Innovation” since 2019, committee member of JANPEC since 2015, committee member on “Government Innovation” of MIC in 2015, and project director on “Silver Business Innovation” of METI in 2015. She served as Deputy Chair of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) on SDGs in 2018 and 2020. She was co-editor of A Decade of World e-Government Rankings (IOS Press, 2015), and received the “Jantima Memorial Award for Women CIO and ICT Leadership” in 2017.

Dr Peter Cowhey holds the Qualcomm Endowed Chair in Communications and Technology Policy, and is Dean of the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego. An expert on the future of communications and information technology markets and policy, he specialises in US trade policy, foreign policy, the Internet and international corporate strategy. His two recent books are Digital DNA: Disruption and the Challenges for Global Governance and Transforming Global Information and Communication Markets: The Political Economy of Innovation. In the last year, Cowhey served as Chair of a bipartisan group of experts on technology, foreign policy and US-China relations. Previously, Cowhey was Chief of the International Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the Clinton administration. In 2009, he had a 12-month assignment as Senior Counselor to Ambassador Ron Kirk in the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Cowhey is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Dr Jayant Menon is Visiting Senior Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, following his early retirement from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), where he was Lead Economist in the Office of the Chief Economist. He started work at Monash University on its original campus in Clayton, Melbourne. He has also worked at the University of Melbourne, Victoria University, ADB Institute in Tokyo and American University in Washington, DC. He holds adjunct appointments with the Australian National University, University of Nottingham (United Kingdom) and Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) Malaysia. He has served on the Advisory Boards of Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI) and University of Nottingham, Malaysia. He has authored/edited 15 books, 40 chapters in books and 80 articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr Andrew Kam graduated with a first class degree in Economics from National University of Malaysia (UKM) in 2002. He received the prestigious Chevening scholarship in 2006 to pursue his MSc in Economics at University of Warwick. In 2008, he was awarded the Endeavour Postgraduate Scholarship to pursue his PhD in Asian Studies at the Crawford School of Economics and Government, Australian National University. He was also a Fulbright Scholar in University of California, Santa Barbara (2015/2016). He is currently Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS), and Associate Professor of Economics at UKM. He has served as a consultant to many national and international organisations – Malaysian Productivity Corporation, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, UNCTAD and UNESCO. He is currently working with the National Economic Recovery Council and helped drafted the COVID-19 National Economic Recovery Plan on Trade and Investment. 

Muhundhan Kamarapullai (or Muhu) has over 20 years of experience in the domains of digital transformation, entrepreneurship, education, healthcare and organisational capability development. At Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), he is Director of the Business Digital Adoption Division. He leads a team that looks into policies and initiatives to support traditional businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises’ (brick and mortar) move towards digitalisation.

Lu Guangtong is a researcher and engineer of Digital Economy Lab, Department of Information Policy, China Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team. He mainly engages in research on the Internet platform, digital service tax and international cooperation in the field of digital economy. He is the lead researcher of the digital service tax research project conducted by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, and one of the key authors of the “Blue Book of Industry and Informatization: Annual Report on the Development of Digital Economy” (2018-2019 and 2019-2020). Lu also serves as Secretariat of the Chinese delegation to the G20 Digital Economy Task Force in 2020.

Elina Noor is Director of Political-Security Affairs and Deputy Director of Asia Society Policy Institute, Washington, DC. A native of Malaysia, Elina’s work focuses on security developments in Southeast Asia, global governance and technology, and preventing/countering violent extremism. Previously, Elina was Associate Professor at the Daniel K Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. Prior to that, she was Director of Foreign Policy and Security Studies at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia. Between 2017 and 2019, Elina was a member of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace. She was educated at Oxford University, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Georgetown University.

Dr Kim Heungchong had served the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) for 19 years before he led the institute as President since June 2020. He has been deeply involved in the policymaking process of the Korean government in the fields of economic, trade and diplomatic policies. He was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar in University of California, Berkeley, and has held visiting positions at Ifri (Paris), VUB (Brussels) and Marmara University (Istanbul). He is the President-elect of the European Studies Association of Korea for 2021. Dr Kim’s expertise includes trade policy, European studies and regional integration. He has published more than 70 papers and books, and has actively contributed to various newspapers and TV programmes in Korea and abroad. Before joining KIEP, Dr Kim was an Honorary Member of the High Table in Christ Church, Oxford. Dr Kim read economics at Seoul National University and University of Oxford.

Ambassador Su Ge was appointed as the PECC Co-Chair on 27 June 2018. Ambassador Su Ge is a senior diplomat and scholar. He has been President of China Institute of International Studies (CIIS). Ambassador Su received his MA and PhD from Brigham Young University and was a Post-doctorate at Harvard University. He was a Senior Fulbright Fellow at Georgetown, John Hopkins and Washington Universities. Before joining CIIS in 2000, Ambassador Su was a professor at Foreign Affairs College and a doctoral supervisor at Tsinghua University. Since 2003, he has served consecutively as Minister Counselor in Chinese Embassy in the USA, Ambassador to the Republic of Suriname and Ambassador to the Republic of Iceland.

Eugene Wong is CEO of Sustainable Finance Institute Asia (SFIA) Limited. He was recently Managing Director, Corporate Finance & Investments of the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC). His portfolio covered initial public offerings (IPOs), corporate bond and sukuk issuances, collective investment schemes and take-overs. He oversaw the SC’s ASEAN-related initiatives and was Chair of the Deputies of the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) and Co-Chair of the Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG). In addition, he was Co-Chair of the ASEAN Working Committee on Capital Market Development (WC-CMD). Eugene was responsible for accounting related matters at the SC and was a Board Member of the Audit Oversight Board. He served as Advisor to the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board, and was previously a Council Member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) and Chairman of its Ethics Standards Board.

Datin Sunita Rajakumar is a professional independent director and strong advocate of the importance of governance in general and risk management in particular. She founded Climate Governance Malaysia, which is the country chapter of the World Economic Forum’s Climate Governance Initiative. She is Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors Malaysia, promotes gender diversity on boards with the 30% Club, a member of the Global Advisory Board of Nottingham University’s School of Business as well as the Advisory Panel of the UN Global Compact Malaysia’s Sustainability Center of Excellence, and a workstream lead for the CEO Action Network, an industry-led initiative to increase sustainability and climate resilience. Besides, she is Chair of Caring Pharmacy and independent director of Bursa-listed Dutch Lady Milk Industries, MCIS Insurance (a member of the Sanlam group) and Zurich General Insurance, as well as trustee of five charitable foundations.

Dr Richard Cantor is Chair of the United States Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (USPECC). Cantor serves as Chief Credit Officer for Moody’s Corporation and Moody’s Investors Service, a position he has held since 2008. From 2009-2019, he also served as Moody’s Corporation’s Chief Risk Officer. Appointed by the US State Department in 2015, Cantor served a three-year term in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council (ABAC), during which he chaired ABAC’s Financial and Economic Working Group. Prior to joining Moody’s, Cantor held a variety of positions at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and was an adjunct professor at New York University’s and Columbia University’s business schools. He has also taught Economics at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and The Ohio State University. Cantor obtained his BA in English and Economics from Tufts University, and PhD in Economics from Johns Hopkins University.

Dr Yose Rizal Damuri is one of the Co-Chairs for the Indonesian National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (INCPEC), and Head of the Department of Economics at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). His research activities focus on international trade, regional integration and globalisation of value chain. He is active in several research and advisory networks in Indonesia and East Asia, such as Indonesia Services Dialogue (ISD) and Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade (ARTNeT). Yose also teaches International Economics courses at the Faculty of Economics, University of Indonesia, his alma mater. He continued his studies at the National Centre for Development Studies, Australian National University and obtained his Master of Economics of Development. He received his PhD in International Economics from the Graduate Institute of International Studies (HEI), Geneva, Switzerland.

Dr Kiki Verico is Deputy Director of the Institute for Economic and Social Research – Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia (LPEM FEB UI). He is a tenure track lecturer (Assistant Professor) at the Department of Economics, FEB UI. Since 2020, he has served as an industry and international trade advisor to the Finance Minister of the Republic of Indonesia. Kiki obtained his bachelor’s degree in Economics (Monetary) from University of Indonesia in 2000, International Masters in Regional Integration (IMRI) from University of Malaya and Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (double degree) in 2005, and Doctor of Philosophy in International Studies (Regional Economic Integration) from Waseda University in 2013. He is the single author of a book entitled The Future of the ASEAN Economic Integration (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017).

Dr Vo Tri Thanh is currently Senior Expert (former vice-president till October 2015) of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM). He holds a BSc from the Moscow State University, and a Master’s degree as well as a PhD in Economics from the Australian National University. Dr Vo mainly undertakes research and provides consultation on issues related to trade liberalisation and international economic integration and macroeconomic policies. His other areas of interests include institutional reforms, financial system and economic development.

Felix Weidenkaff works at the International Labour Organization (ILO) of the United Nations in Bangkok as Employment Specialist to provide technical advice on employment as part of the ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team for East and South-East Asia and the Pacific (ILO DWT-Bangkok). Previously, Felix served in the Employment Policy Department of the ILO in Geneva, leading research, capacity building and advisory services on evidence-based policymaking, active labour market policies as well as partnerships for youth employment. Prior to joining the ILO in 2012, Felix worked in the Division on Investment and Enterprise of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Felix holds an MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Dr Tan Khee Giap is Associate Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, and Chairman of the Singapore National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dr Tan graduated with a PhD from University of East Anglia, Norwich, in 1987. He has consulted extensively with government ministries and statutory boards of Singapore, and served as a consultant to such international agencies as the Asian Development Bank, Asian Development Bank Institute, United Nations Industrial Development Group, World Gold Council, ASEAN Secretariat, Central Policy Unit of Hong Kong, Kerzner International, Las Vegas Sands and Marina Bay Sands. Dr Tan is the lead author of more than 20 books and has published extensively in international refereed journals. His current research interests include econometric forecasting, cost of living and purchasing power index, global liveable cities index, ease of doing business index, and competitiveness analysis sub-national economies of China, India, Indonesia and ASEAN.

Ambassador Sergio Ley-Lopez is Chairman of the Mexico National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation. He has served in various capacities with the Mexican Foreign Service since 1984: Cultural Counselor in Beijing (1984-1990); Deputy Chief of Mission in Singapore (1990-1993); Consul General in Shanghai (1993-1995); Director General for Pacific and Asia at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1995-1997); and Ambassador to Indonesia (1997-2001) and China (2001-2007). He is currently Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Business Section in the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology (COMCE). He is also a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council (ABAC), and Editorial Board Member in the International Affairs Committee for El Universal (a Mexican newspaper based in Mexico City).

Dr Shiro Armstrong is a Fellow at the Crawford School of Public Policy. He is Director of the Australia-Japan Research Centre, Editor of East Asia Forum, and Director of the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research (EABER) in the College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University. He is also Visiting Associate Professor at Keio University, Research Associate with the Center on Japanese Economy and Business (CJEB) at Columbia Business School, and Visiting Scholar at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI), Japan. He is the Australian representative on the Research Institutes Network (RIN) of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).

Vangelis Vitalis is Deputy Secretary of Trade and Economic at the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He is also Chair of the APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) for New Zealand’s host year in 2021 and Chief Negotiator for the free trade agreement with the European Union (EU). Previously, Vangelis was the chief negotiator who concluded the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Before that, he led the conclusion of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement and the Malaysia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. Vangelis has also worked as an economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Secretariat, and chaired (in his personal capacity) the OECD Joint Working Party on Trade and Environment (JWPTE) and the OECD Global Forum on the Environment and Climate Change. Prior to taking up his role in 2017, Vangelis served as New Zealand’s Ambassador to the EU and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva.

Dr Richard Record is the Lead Economist for Malaysia in the World Bank Group’s Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment Global Practice. Based in Kuala Lumpur, he manages the Bank’s engagement on economic policy issues in Malaysia, including publication of the flagship Malaysia Economic Monitor and the report on Malaysia’s Digital Economy – A New Driver of Development. Richard has previously worked across a number of countries in the East Asia and Africa regions, managing programs on macroeconomics, trade and private sector development, including assignments based in Lilongwe, Vientiane and Hanoi. He holds bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in economics respectively from the London School of Economics, the School of Oriental and African Studies and the University of Manchester.

Don Campbell serves as International Co-Chair of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) and Chairman of the Canadian National Committee for PECC. He is Senior Strategy Advisor with DLA Piper (Canada) LLP. Don has an extensive background in the international arena in both the public and private sector. From 2000-2007, he was Group President at CAE Inc. His distinguished career with Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade includes serving as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and G8 Sherpa (1997-2000), Canadian Ambassador for Japan (1993-1997), Deputy Minister of International Trade (1989-1993) and Canadian Ambassador to Korea (1984-1985). He is Distinguished Fellow of the Asia Pacific Foundation (APF) of Canada, serves on the Global Council of the Asia Society, New York, and is a member of the board of directors of the Japan Society, Canada. He serves on the board of directors of Toyota Canada Inc. as well as private company boards.

Herizal is known for his engagements with think tanks, civil society, and governments particularly in the areas of development and democracy. Outside Malaysia, he has worked in eleven Asian countries, namely in Indonesia, East Timor (now Timor-Leste), Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Chinese Taipei. In 2004, Herizal managed the only International Election Observation Mission for Afghanistan’s Presidential Election and deployed 45 long-term and short-term observers to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. Herizal also served as a member of the International Contact Group (ICG) for the peace process in Mindanao where he assisted the Malaysian Government’s facilitator to the peace process, the Mindanao Islamic Liberation Front peace panel, as well as the Government of Philippines peace panel that led to the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro in 2014. He has been widely quoted on issues such as countering violent extremism, peace processes, and development economics, as well as contemporary ASEAN issues. Herizal was a recipient of the prestigious Draper-Hills Fellowship at Stanford University, and was a Chevening Scholar at Birkbeck.