6th North-East Asia Multistakeholder Forum on Sustainable Development Goals 2022

H.E. Mr. Khurelbaatar Chimed, Member of Parliament, Minister of Economy and Development, has extensive experience in policymaking, public financing management as well as in the financial and economic sector. During 30 years of his political career, he served as a Researcher for the Ministry of National Development (1991-1992), Senior Economist for the Government’s Economic Policy Support Project (1998-2000), Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister (2000-2003), State Secretary of Ministry of Finance (2003-2007), Minister of Fuel and Energy (2007-2008), Chairman of the Standing Committee on Budget (2008-2009, 2016-2017, 2021-2022), Minister of Mongolia, Chief of Cabinet Secretariat (2009-2012) and Minister of Finance (2017-2021).

He has now been serving as a Member of the Parliament of Mongolia for the fourth consecutive term since 2008.

Mr. Kaveh Zahedi is the Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations ESCAP. He oversees ESCAP’s programmes on energy, environment, natural disasters, finance, trade, transport, social development, and statistics, all in support of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. He also supervises ESCAP's institutes on ICT for Development (Incheon), disaster information management (Tehran), agricultural mechanization (Beijing), statistics (Chiba) and technology transfer (Delhi). He helps to run the UN Regional Cooperation Platform, facilitates collaboration with UN Resident Coordinators and Country Teams and oversees implementation of the UN regional reform process.

Prior to this, Mr. Zahedi worked at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) including as its Regional Director and Representative for Asia and the Pacific and as Deputy Director of the Division of Economy.

Mr. Tapan Mishra has taken over his role as the United Nations Resident Coordinator (UN RC) for Mongolia in September 2019. As UN RC, the highest-ranking representative of the United Nations Development System in Mongolia, he has been designated by the UN Secretary General to lead the UN Country Team in coordinating operational activities for development in the country. Before this post in Mongolia, Mr. Mishra served as UN RC in DPR Korea from 2015 to 2019.  Mr. Tapan Mishra first joined the UN system in 2003 as the UNDP Learning Advisor and Deputy Chief of the Learning Resources Centre (LRC) in the Office of Human Resources, Bureau of Management where he moved up to become the Director and Chief of LRC from 2007 to 2013.

Mr. Vinod Ahuja is country representative of FAO in Mongolia. Prior to moving to Mongolia, he was based at the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok as Livestock Policy Officer. During 1998-2009, he taught at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India and worked for the World Bank in Washington DC during 1994-97. He has written extensively on a broad range of topics including barriers to collective action, poverty and income distribution, commercialization of agricultural services and food security and nutrition.

He has supported a large number of field projects in Asia and promoted partnerships towards establishing new service delivery models based on genuine farmer needs. He has been an ardent advocate of the potential of dairy sector towards promotion of household food security, nutrition, and empowerment of women in poor countries.

Dr. Hamza Malik is the Director of the Macroeconomic Policy and Financing for Development Division (MPFD) at the United Nations ESCAP). He leads ESCAP’s research that analyzes economic conditions and emerging development challenges in Asia-Pacific countries and evaluates potential policy options and financing strategies that can support them in their pursuit of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. He is a member of several UN task teams that support its global work pertaining to financing SDGs, including on climate finance, debt issues, and economic recovery policies in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before joining ESCAP in 2014, Hamza Malik worked as the Director of Monetary Policy Department at the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) – country’s central bank – from June 2007 till November 2014.

Mr. Jambaltseren Tumur-Uya is now serving as State Secretary of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry since May 2020. Before this, he used to serve as a General Director of State Administration and Management Department of Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, also used to work as Director of Khalkh Gol, Authority of National Agricultural Development Zone between 2016 and 2018. He holds a BA degree in both Sociology, and Business Administration, and holds MBA from the National University of Mongolia, Master of Social Change and Development from the University of Newcastle in Australia.

Mr. Ke Yousheng is Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to UNESCAP since 2020. Mr. Ke holds a master’s degree in Public and International Law at the University of Melbourne.

He served as Counsellor in the Department of International Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of China between 2018 to 2020, prior to which he was Counsellor at the Mission of China to ASEAN. During 2012 to 2015, Mr. Ke was the Division Director in the Department of International Economic Affairs, MFA, China.

Ms. Jin Ju is a researcher on the right to food, food policy and climate change, at the Institute of Green Transition in Republic of Korea. Prior to joining the IGT, Ms. Jin worked on the right to food at Hong Kong based Asian Human Rights Committee (2006-2012), carrying out field research in many Asian countries including India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Papua and Indonesia, and the Philippines etc. In Republic of Korea, Ms. Jin worked as a governmental official for the sub-national governments on human rights policy and the policy on agriculture and fishery. As a researcher, Ms. Jin worked at the Institute on Agriculture and Peasants supporting the Korean Women Peasants Association and Korean Peasants League, and the La Via Campesina. Ms. Jin earned her MA in Sociology and is currently a PhD candidate in Law.

Mr. Baasanjav Ganbold is the Head of United Nations ESCAP East and North-East Asia Office based in Incheon, Republic of Korea. Prior to joining ESCAP in 2019, Dr. Ganbold worked extensively for the government of Mongolia as a career diplomat, serving as Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (2013-2018) and Vietnam (2004-2008), and more recently as the Ambassador-at-large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Sustainable Development. Earlier he served as the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Director-General of the Departments of Public Affairs and Asia and the Pacific respectively, and in the Embassy of Mongolia in Pyongyang, DPR of Korea. He earned his BA in International Relations from Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), Russia, MA in Political Science from University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA, and PhD in Law from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Republic of Korea.

Mr. Koichiro Matsumoto is Director for Global Issues Cooperation, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Japan. He has been in the current position since July 2022. Prior to the current position, he was Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Public Affairs at the Prime Minister’s office, overseeing government-wide public relations issues serving for three prime ministers (Mr Abe, Mr Suga and Mr Kishida). In his earlier career as a diplomat, he held various positions as Deputy Director in-charge of nonproliferation issues, foreign press, the G8/G20 Summit (Japan’s Sherpa assistant) and national security issues.

Mr. Batjargal Khandjav is the State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy and Development of Mongolia. Prior to joining the Ministry of Economy and Development in 2022, he has worked at the National Development Agency as the Chairman, and at the Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism as the Director of the Climate Change and Foreign Cooperation Department, Director of the Public Administration Department, and the Director of the Nature Conservation Fund. During his career, he has worked on United Nations projects, ADB projects, and other projects as a Project Director. Some highlighting projects include “Developing a policy document on Mongolia’s nationally determined contributions (NDC) for the Paris Agreement” project and “Managing Soil Pollution in Ger Areas through Improved One-site Sanitation” project, “Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM)” projects.

Ms. Hyunjoo Kim has served as a development cooperation expert in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea since 2009. She worked in Development Cooperation Division, Development Cooperation Planning and Evaluation Team, and Multilateral Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance Division.  Before joining the Foreign Ministry, she worked in a Korea NGOs Council for Overseas Cooperation as a program officer coordinating various NGOs’ activities and planning education and capacity-building programs (2005-2008). Ms. Kim also worked as a project manager at Research and Industrial Policy Advice Division, United Nations Industry Development Organization (2018-2021). Currently, she is in charge of the UN SDGs agenda in Development Policy and Agenda Division of the MOFA.

Head, UN and G20 Division, Ministry of Economic Development, Russian Federation

Dr. Nelya Rakhimova is a sustainable development advocate, educator and policy analyst. She is a founder and CEO of Open School for Sustainable Development (Openshkola), coordinator of the Coalition for Sustainable Development of Russia (CSDR) and the first civil society review on the implementation of the SDGs in Russia, Board member of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum, ECE RCEM Governing Body Member, Member of GCAP Europe Regional Council, Teach SDGs Ambassador. In 2016, she received Ph.D  in  natural  science  at  TU Dresden,  Germany,  in  2011  a  master  degree  in Environmental Planning at ASU, USA as a Fulbright Scholar. She worked as a Policy Advisor at UN DESA at the Division on SDGs in New York, USA, as a consultant for UNSSC, UNDP, UN-HABITAT.

Mr. Mohammad Yasin Janjua is an Economist with UNDP. Prior to joining UNDP, he has worked as an Economist with the Government of Canada, Canadian international Development Agency, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and as macroeconomics consultant with the World Bank, European Union, GIZ, DFID, and as a visiting faculty member with premier universities in Canada, including York University, Ryerson University, and University of Toronto at Mississauga. As an executive at UNDP's Centre for Poverty Research and Social Policy Development in Pakistan, he led work on Pakistan’s Economic Growth Framework 2010 and Pakistan Millennium Development Goals Report 2010. Janjua holds a master’s degree in Economics from Kansas State University in USA and a Certificate in Economics of Environment and Innovation Policy from University of Ottawa.

Sergey Tulinov has been working for the United Nations secretariat for more than 10 years.

He is managing projects on sustainable energy to support countries of the Asia-Pacific region in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7 and the Paris agreement.

Mr.Yeren-Ulzii Batmunkh is the Director-General of the Policy and Planning Department of Ministry of Energy, Mongolia. He was born in Uvurkhangai province of Mongolia. In 2003, he graduated from Mongolian University of Science and Technology with a bachelor’s degree in Power system automatization. He has a master's degree in Energy Policy Planning from the University of Technology (Sydney, Australia). Mr. Yeren-Ulzii Batmunkh started his career as an engineer in the Energy Training Center and worked his way up to his current position as the Director-Generаl of the Policy and Planning Department. Prior to his role at the ministry, he worked in research at implementing agencies under the Ministry and was a specialist in the field of power supply and demand projection, feasibility studies of new projects and power system extension plan. Mr.Yeren-Ulzii Batmunkh has 16 years-experience in the energy sector.

Mr. Arnaud Debauge serves as Climate and Energy Analyst in the Research and Policy Team of UNDP China. In this role, he also coordinates the Secretariat of the Planet Results Group of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), that encompasses all UN activities in environment, climate and biodiversity in China. Having 7 years in the climate and energy field for 7 years, he worked previously as a lecturer and programme manager in the Sino-European Engineering College of Shanghai University (UTSEUS), as general manager of the NGO China Carbon Forum, and as a junior research and higher education officer at the Embassy of France in Beijing.

Ms. Qing WANG is the Gender and Climate Change Programme Officer for UN Women China Office, based in Beijing, China. Qing works in environment and climate field for over ten years. Joining UN Women in 2017, Qing has been working on promoting women’s economic empowerment and leadership in climate actions. Besides, she has been acting as a member of UN Planet Result Group, for enhanced UN collaboration and gender mainstreaming. Qing earned her master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Mr. Jieon Lee is climate and energy coordinator with the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM). He serves as a member of policy committee in the Korea NGO’s Energy Network and member of energy committee in Dangjin City. He worked as executive director with Climate Emergency Action and Member of Forum on Low carbon social vision in the Ministry of Environment.

Mr. Tsevegmid TUMENTSOGT was appointed as a Chairman of the Business Council of Mongolia in August 2020. Mr. Tumentsogt served as a Board Director of Oyu Tolgoi LLC from 2018 to 2020 and as a CEO of Erdenes Oyu Tolgoi LLC, Government shareholder which holds 34% of interests at the world class Oyu Tolgoi copper & gold project from 2019 to October 2021. Mr. Tumentsogt served as a CEO of Erdenes Mongol LLC, Mongolia’s largest state holding company responsible for managing Government strategic mining assets in Mongolia from 2016 to 2018. Mr. Tumentsogt served as a Chief Representative & Executive Director of General Electric (GE) International Inc. in Mongolia from 2011 to 2016. Mr. Tumentsogt served as an Advisor to Minister of Fuel and Energy, and his experience in public sectors include serving as a Commissioner at the Energy Regulatory Commission, and working at the Ministry of Infrastructure, Ministry of Fuel and Energy, State Property Committee. Mr.Tumentsogt supports business advocacy groups and actively participates and contributes to activities of professional organizations, including Project Management Institute (PMI) Mongolia Chapter, Future Energy Mongolian Hydrogen Council (FEMHC).

Mr. Munkhbat Duusuren is Green Cities Officer at Mongolia office of Global Green Growth Institute. He is leading the project delivery and development of GGGI's 'Green Cities' service offerings in Mongolia, supporting the government and stakeholders to design and implement green growth strategies and action plans related to the green cities theme and other GGGI focus area of climate, energy and green finance.

Munkhbat has an MBA degree in project management from Kyoto University and has work experience in private and public sectors in Mongolia and Japan.

Mr. Lei Xiaomeng is Chief Expert of China Electricity Council and works for CEC since 2016. He worked in the national power dispatching center as the head of the system operation department since 1982; from 2003 to 2016, he worked as the vice chief engineer of China Yangtze Power Co., Ltd. He served as a member of the study committee C2 (system operation and control) of the international large power system Conference (CIGRE) and still participates in the work of relevant working groups. At present, he is a member of the steering committee of the Northeast Asia Power Interconnection and Cooperation Forum (NEARPIC) and the working group of the GMS power trade coordination committee.

Mr. Thilasoni Benjamin Musuku is the Senior Financial Sector Specialist for Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice (FCI GP) World Bank in the East Asia and Pacific Region, covering Mongolia.  Mr. Musuku, a Zambian national, joined the World Bank in 2009.  He relocated to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in September 2021.  His prime responsibility in Ulaanbaatar is coordinating the World Bank country sector program for the FCI GP while actively participating and contributing to multi-sectoral teams involved in policy dialogue with the authorities, and delivery of investment and policy-based operations, analytical and advisory services. Ben received his MSc in International Money and Banking from the Birmingham University, England.  He also holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (Business Economics) from the Copperbelt University, Zambia. Prior to joining the World Bank, Ben worked 13 years for the Zambian central bank in roles covering supervision and monetary policy. Ben started his career at Barclays Bank in 1995.

Dr. Clovis Freire is the Chief of the Technology and Innovation Policy Section of the Division on Technology and Logistics of UNCTAD based in Geneva. He is the main author of UNCTAD’s Technology and Innovation Report. Prior to joining UNCTAD in 2018, Dr. Freire worked since 2003 at UN DESA in New York and UNESCAP in Bangkok on issues related to sustainable development, economic growth and structural transformation, economic diversification and strategies for building the productive capacities of developing countries. He earned his Bachelor’s in Computer Engineering from the Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA), in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, MBA in Strategic Management of Information Systems from the Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV), Brasilia, Brazil, MSc in Computer Science from the University de Brasília (UnB), and PhD in Economics from the Maastricht University, the Netherlands.

Ms. Mika Tachibana is the Policy Researcher of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) Kansai Research Centre (KRC) in Kobe, Japan. After joining IGES in 2009, Ms. Tachibana has been engaging in several projects of promoting the transfer of Japanese Low Carbon Technologies (LTCs) to Indian industrial sector over the decade including projects related to the Japan-India Technology Matchmaking Platform (JITMAP). She was also involved in a feasibility study project on the application of the LTCs targeting several countries in Asia (Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Thailand, Vietnam) as well as a feasibility study project on the replication of the JITMAP initiative in other Asian countries (Thailand, Vietnam). Currently, she is expanding her research field and promoting the concept of the Regional Circular and Ecological Sphere (Regional-CES) to Asian countries (Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam). 

Mr. Yesukhei Enkhuvshin has spent the last 13 years in the diplomatic service and has been appointed as Director of the Investment Research Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia in 2021. The IRC is a body within the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that is responsible for international connectivity and economic corridors. Upon obtaining bachelor’s degree in International Relations in 2009, he started his career at the Ministry of Foreign affairs as officer at Diplomatic Protocol Department, where he coordinated various official visits, including VVIP visits at level of Heads of State and Government. In 2012, he was promoted to Third Secretary and was transferred to Department of Europe and Middle East of the MFA, which was later rearranged and renamed as Department of Europe and Americas. Later in 2015, he became Deputy Director of the same Department. In 2016, Yesukhei was appointed as Minister Counsellor at the Embassy of Mongolia in Paris, where he was also tasked to serve as Deputy Permanent Delegate of Mongolia to UNESCO.

Dr. Mamello Thinyane is a Senior Research Advisor at the United Nations University institute in Macau, where he manages a portfolio of research projects on cyber resilience and data and sustainable development. These projects aim to enhance the cyber resilience of civil society stakeholders and their participation in sustainable development data ecosystems in Macau SAR and the Asia-Pacific region. Dr. Thinyane holds a PhD in Computer Science from Rhodes University and has over 15 years of experience working on multi-stakeholder and multi-disciplinary digital development projects in Africa and Asia.  Before joining UNU, he was an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Fort Hare in South Africa, as well as the Director for the Telkom Centre of Excellence in ICT for Development at the same institute. He was also a visiting researcher at the Australian Centre for Cyber Security at the University of New South Wales - Australian Defense Force Academy.

Ms. Risa Endo is Deputy Director General and Climate Change Program Leader of Japan Center for a Sustainable Environment and Society (JACSES). After working for insurance and energy related companies, she has worked at JACSES since 2014. She is in charge of Climate Change Program and SDGs・SCP Program, and main activities include advocacy actions, policy making, information sharing and public awareness campaign. She also serves as a convener of thematic units for Japan Civil Society Network on SDGs, one of vice chair of Climate Action Network Japan, and the secretariat of the Network on Environment and Gender. She earned her BA in Liberal Arts at Tsuda University in Japan and MSc in Globalisation and Development at The University of Manchester in the UK.

Development Coordination Officer/Economist, UN RCO Mongolia

Mr. Evariste Kouassi-Komlan is the UNICEF Representative to Mongolia. He has extensive experience working on children’s issues in development and complex humanitarian contexts, with a particular focus on ensuring linkages between climate change and social sectors and in building partnerships. He provided leadership for water, sanitation, and hygiene programmes in 24 countries and territories in UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office before assuming his duties in Mongolia in November 2021.  

Mr. Tom Panella is the Director for Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture in the East Asia Department at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and is Chair the Water Sector Committee/Group for ADB. As Director in East Asia, he is responsible for managing operations including strategy; project development, management, and programming; policy dialogue; and knowledge management. As Chair of the Water Sector Committee, he provides oversight for the ADB-wide Water Sector Group for policy development, institutional engagement in water issues, and strategic direction of lending and non-lending water operations. He served as ADB’s Chief of Water Sector Group from 2017-20, Afghanistan Country Director from 2014-17, and joined ADB in 2003. He has led water operations in Central, South, and Southeast Asia including postings in Indonesia directing the water and climate change programs and in Uzbekistan as head of operations. He worked at the World Bank from 2000 to 2002 as a Water Resources Management Specialist.

Ms. Brooke Yamakoshi, WASH Specialist, UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO). Brooke brings 15 years of experience in designing, managing, and advising programmes in WASH and integrated water resources management for the World Bank and UNICEF, with skills in strategy development, resource mobilization, capacity building and partnership development. Brooke has supported programmes around the world, with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. Brooke holds an MSc. in Systems Engineering (water and sanitation) and BSc. in Civil Engineering (water resources) from University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science, USA.

Dr. Batdelger Odsuren is the Head of Hydrochemistry Laboratory, Institute of Geography and Geoecology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences. Dr. Odsuren has been working as a researcher at the institute since 2005. She earned her BA in Chemical Engineer from University of Science and Technology, Mongolia, MA in Science from UNESCO-IHE, Institute for Water Education, Delft, the Netherlands, and PhD in Environmental Studies from University of Tsukuba, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Japan.

UBAT solution NGO, Mongolia

Ms. Elaine Conkievich is UNDP Resident Representative in Mongolia. She is a senior international development professional with 28 years of experience in human rights, rule of law, gender mainstreaming, democratic institution building, conflict resolution, and preventive diplomacy. Prior to joining UNDP as Resident Representative in Mongolia in November 2019, she was UN Women Representative in Kazakhstan, promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment.   From 2012-2014, she served as Director, Department of Democratization, OSCE Mission in Kosovo promoting good governance, democratic elections, and media freedom. Ms. Conkievich’s work with the OSCE, UN and international NGOs includes working in Tajikistan, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland, Latvia, and Germany.

Mr. Omar Siddique is an urbanist and development planner with 20 years of progressively responsible work experience across over 40 countries in the planning, management, and evaluation of complex programs in urban contexts. His work at ESCAP Sustainable Urban Development Section focuses on the spatial planning, housing, land, infrastructure, transportation, employment and environmental conundrums during rapid urbanization. He has worked with numerous urban actors across a diverse project portfolio and held previous positions in the UN system across multiple duty stations being based in Pristina, Kosovo as Head of Office and Chief Technical Advisor with UN-Habitat; in Brussels, Belgium as Senior Urban Specialist at the Cities Alliance/UNOPS; in Colombo, Sri Lanka, New York and Bangkok as Programme Specialist with UNDP. Before joining the UN system in 2005, Omar worked in microfinance at the Grameen Bank in Dhaka, Bangladesh, as special assistant to Nobel laurate and founder, Dr. Muhammad Yunus.

Attaché, Assistant Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to ESCAP

Dr. Bernadia Tjandradewi is the Secretary General of the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG ASPAC). She is the first woman Secretary General of the UCLG’s regional section. She has been working in urban development and related fields for more than 25 years. She was selected as one of prominent women whose work makes impacts in Asia Pacific in 2018 by GovInsider Asia. Her interests are on strategic urban planning, climate change, disaster management, water management, women empowerment, and local governance. Dr. Bernadia received her PhD in urban engineering from the University of Tokyo, and two master’s degrees in Atmospheric Physic from Nagoya University, Japan and in Public Policy from National University of Singapore.

National Officer, UN-Habitat China

Mr. Nobuyuki Asai is the Director for Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Affairs at the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) and the Executive Director of Soka Gakkai Peace Committee, based in Tokyo, Japan. Since 2015 he has served as a focal of the Japan CSO Coalition for Disaster Risk Reduction (JCC-DRR). He earned his BA in law from Tokyo University, Japan.

Ms. KATAOKA Yatsuka is the Programme Director, City Taskforce, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES). After engaging in environmental technology transfer and capacity building projects targeted at the Southeast Asian countries in Global Environment Centre Foundation (GEC), Ms. Kataoka joined IGES in 2001. At IGES, she worked for water management related research projects, especially focusing on groundwater management policy and water quality management in Asian countries. After being the Deputy Director of Kitakyushu Urban Centre, she leads the City Taskforce unit since July 2017.  She is now engaged in the networking and capacity development related projects and the research on city's sustainable development. The current research focus is localisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Voluntary Local Review (VLR).

Programme Officer, UN-Habitat Mongolia

Mr. Prabin Maharjan is the Programme Management Expert of the United Nations Project Office on Governance (UNPOG), an integral part of the Division for Public Institutions and Digital Government (DPIDG), UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). In his current role, he supports effective capacity development to strengthening public governance and the Sustainable Development Goals. Before taking this position, Mr. Maharjan worked as an Associate Research and Policy Analysis Expert of the UNPOG where he developed the Training Toolkit on Effective National to Local Public Governance for SDG Implementation. He has worked with the KOICA, the Asian Association for the Public Administration (AAPA), and the Yonsei University's Brain Korea 21 Plus Research Team in the field of public administration. He holds a master's and doctoral degree in Public Administration from Yonsei University, the Republic of Korea.

Mr. Mark Koenig has been The Asia Foundation’s country representative in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia since 2018. In this role, he oversees the Foundation’s development programs in Mongolia, focused on strengthening governance, supporting Mongolia’s anti-corruption efforts, empowering women, and addressing environmental challenges. Mr. Koenig leads a dynamic team in Ulaanbaatar working effectively with government, civil society, and the private sector in Mongolia. Mark brings more than a decade of experience in governance issues across Asia to his role in Mongolia. Most recently, he served as the deputy director and Urban Governance specialist for the Foundation’s Program Specialists Group working out of the Foundation’s office in Thailand, where he designed urban governance programming in countries including Mongolia, Cambodia, Nepal, and Myanmar. He has worked at The Asia Foundation in a full-time capacity since 2010, coming from the International Security Sector Advisory Team (ISSAT) in Geneva, Switzerland. Mark holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the Johns Hopkins University, and a master’s degree with a concentration in Law and Development from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Ms. Juliet Braslow is the Sustainable Affairs Officer in the Office of the Executive Secretary at the United Nations ESCAP. She coordinates events, publications, and partnerships in support of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Asia and the Pacific including the  Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development. Within ESCAP, she also worked in the Space Applications Section to support the implementation of the Asia-Pacific Plan of Action on Space Applications for Sustainable Development. Prior to joining ESCAP, Juliet worked in Latin America and the Caribbean with UNECLAC as well as in Sub-Saharan Africa with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture. She holds a Master of Science in Agronomy and Horticulture and a Master of Science in International Agricultural Development. She has 12 years of experience in sustainable international development and technical assistance in the fields of environmental management, sustainable urban development, and innovative technology applications.

Mr. Frank Thomas is Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) consultant in the Strategy, Policy and Partnerships Department of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He is an SDGs/Agenda 2030, effective development cooperation, and strategic partnerships specialist. Prior to ADB, he worked for UNDP, UNOPS, the UK government, The Asia Foundation, The Japan Foundation and Adam Smith International, in a range of Asia-Pacific countries such as Afghanistan, Japan, Myanmar, Nepal and the Philippines. He is currently based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. His role with ADB focuses on advancing SDG implementation in ADB’s developing member countries across the Asia-Pacific region in collaboration with multiple stakeholders. A UK national of British-Japanese heritage, he holds a 1st Class BA Honours in Oriental Studies from the University of Oxford (UK) and a Master of Sociology with Distinctions from the University of Tokyo (Japan).

Dr. Yuri Yoon is a manager and researcher at ODA Research Center at Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).  Prior to joining KOICA in 2017, Dr. Yoon started her career as a lecturer and visiting professor in several universities in Korea. Then she worked as a researcher in fields of green technology and development cooperation by joining government funded research institutions and private research centers. She earned her MSc in International Transport and Ph.D. in Business Administration (International Commerce).

Mrs. Gombosuren Urantsooj is the Chairperson of the Centre for Human Rights and Development (CHRD), Mongolia, Coordinator of the Mongolian CSOs Network on SDGs. Mrs. Urantsooj joined the Mongolian civil society movement in middle of 1990s and founded the CHRD in 1998 together with colleagues, human rights advocates. Prior to joining the civil society movement, she worked as Deputy Director on Research and Development in “SHIM” Research and Production Company Ltd. (1990-1994); as research fellow and head of laboratory in the Research Institute of Biotechnology and Institute of General and Experimental Biology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences (1977- 1990).

Ms. Bilegsaikhan Byambadorj (Bilgee) is currently working as a Business Development and Partnership manager at Mongolia Sustainable Finance Association (aka ToC), in charge of business memberships and also leading the Switching on the Green Economy project that will support MSMEs in adopting circular economy practices through a market-based eco-labeling system. Moreover, she also works on green microfinance, clean air projects, and E&S assessment for mortgage corporations, insurance, and investment fund. She previously worked for Ernst and Young as an auditor and senior auditor from 2013-2021. During her professional services to international companies, local group companies, and major banks in Mongolia and overseas, she observed that the E&S reporting and its assessment, circular economy practices, and sustainable finance are crucial to reaching climate change objectives and thus started working in the field in 2021.

CHRD, Mongolia

Ms. Rina (Lina) TANAKA is a Secretariat staff in the Department of Policymaking in the Japan Youth Platform for Sustainability (JYPS) based in Japan. JYPS is a self-organised platform for young people in and related to Japan to engage in certain intergovernmental and allied processes at the local, national and international levels. Throughout various kinds of events, campaigns, and social networking, we are creating a "space" for supporting Japanese youth advocacies with individual Japanese youth as well as with youth organisations. She is a graduate student in the School of International Public Policy, Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo. She earned her BA in International and Cultural Relations from Tsuda University, the women-only University in Japan.