Chair
Mr. Sumanta Chaudhuri
Mr Sumanta Chaudhuri is a seasoned strategist in international trade and public policy, bringing over three decades of extensive experience in both government and international organizations. With a distinguished career as an IAS officer of the 1985 batch, West Bengal Cadre, Mr. Chaudhuri has held influential positions including Secretary of Coal, Government of India, and Managing Director of the Small Farmers Agri-Business Consortium, Ministry of Agriculture. Notably, he spearheaded pioneering initiatives such as the E-NAM project and the development of Farmer Producers' Organisations. As India's Chief Services Negotiator at WTO forums and Chief/Dy Chief Negotiator for various bilateral agreements, he has played a pivotal role in shaping India's trade policies on a global scale.
Discussants
Ms. Prewprae Chumrum
Ms. Prewprae Chumrum has been appointed as Executive Director, Bureau of Trade in Services and Investment Negotiations, Department of Trade Negotiations, Ministry of Commerce of Thailand in early 2018, after engaged in bilateral affairs (Asia, Middle East and African regions) and multilateral negotiations under World Trade Organisation for more than 24 years. 4. Prewprae has had various working background and experience on international economics, international relations including international negotiations on goods, services, investment environment, climate change, digital trade, etc. at bilateral, regional and multilateral level. She has been a lead negotiator for Thailand in various bilateral and ASEAN- dialogue FTAs and also ASEAN Co-Chair for Working Group on Trade in Services under AANZFTA, AJCEP and ACAFTA. Recently, Prewprae has taken up a Chair for ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) negotiations.
Mr. Lokesh Kumar
MR. LOKESH KUMAR is a graduate in Civil Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Patna, holds a Master’s Degree in Marketing Management from LN Mishra Institute, Patna, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Financial Management from Indira Gandhi National Open University. He is a Certified Associate of Indian Institute of Bankers. Having joined Exim Bank in 2008, he is currently heading the Infrastructure Group and DPA – III assignment of the Bank. In addition, he is also responsible for the Administration of Bank’s New Delhi office. Prior to this assignment, Mr. Kumar headed the New Business Development Group of the Bank at Mumbai. As Head of New Business Development Group, he handled the Trade Assistance Programme, Factoring and Grass Root Initiative of the Bank. Mr. Kumar has also headed Bank’s Human Resource Management, Rajbhasha and Special Situations Group, besides Bank’s London Branch and Pune Regional Office.
Dr. Donghyun Park
Dr Donghyun Park is the Economic Advisor (Strategic Knowledge Initiatives), ADB Office of the Chief Economist and Director General, Economic Research and Development Impact Department. Prior to joining ADB in 2007, Donghyun was a tenured associate professor of economics at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He has a PhD in economics from UCLA in the US, and his main research fields are international finance, international trade, and development economics. His research, which has been published extensively in journals and books, revolves around policy-oriented topics relevant for Asia’s long-term development, including innovation, entrepreneurship, and green finance.
