Fifth Asia-Pacific Directors General Forum for South-South and Triangular Cooperation

Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana was appointed Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) on 13 September 2018.

She also serves on the Governing Board of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), and member of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (Akademi Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia - AIPI), the Forum of Statistics Community (Forum Masyarakat Statistik or Advisory Council of the Indonesian Statistics), the International Advisory Board of the Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies and Council Member of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI).

From 2009 to 2014, she was Minister of National Development Planning and the Head of the National Development Planning Agency (BAPPENAS), Indonesia. She served as Co-chair of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation from 2012 to 2014. From 2009 to 2014, she was Alternate Governor of the World Bank and Alternate Governor of the Asian Development Bank representing the government of Indonesia. In 2016, she was a member of the High-Level Independent Team of Advisors to support the ECOSOC Dialogue on the longer-term positioning of the United Nations Development System in the context of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.

Mr. Adnan Hameed Aliani is the Director of Strategy and Programme Management Division (SPMD) at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). In this post, he is responsible for coordinating ESCAP’s programme of work, its programme budget and its programme monitoring and evaluation. He is also responsible for coordinating ESCAP’s extrabudgetary resources, its donor relationships and its partnerships with other agencies within and outside the UN family. 

From 1 May 2021 to 30 April 2022, Mr. Aliani concurrently served as Officer-in-Charge of ESCAP’s Subregional Office for South and Southwest Asia. As Officer-in-Charge, he was responsible for implementing ESCAP’s programme of work in South Asia; strengthening relations with ESCAP member States; intergovernmental organizations and with UN country teams in the subregion. 

Mr. Aliani served as the Secretary of the Commission at ESCAP from 2012 to 2014. As the Secretary of the Commission, he was responsible for dealing with intergovernmental matters at ESCAP, particularly overseeing the legislative meetings of ESCAP, including the Commission and managing ESCAP’s relationships with its member States. Before assuming the position of the Secretary of the Commission, Mr. Aliani was the Chief of the Sustainable Urban Development Section at ESCAP. 

He has worked with the United Nations for over 20 years and has coordinated several UN projects related to poverty reduction, housing, urban planning, environmental management, community-based development and local government development in almost all developing countries of Asia and the Pacific. He was instrumental in establishing and managing CITYNET, the largest and most active network of local authorities in Asia and the Pacific. He was instrumental in establishing LOGOTRI, the network of local government training and research institutes in Asia and the Pacific as well as the Asia-Pacific Union for Housing Finance. 

Mr. Aliani was born in Pakistan. After completing his secondary schooling in Switzerland, he received his bachelor's degree from the United States. He returned to Asia to complete his Master's degree in planning from the Asian Institute of Technology. 

Mr. Arken Arystanov is the current Chairman of the Board of Kazakhstan’s Agency of International Development "KazAID". He holds a PhD in Economics from Moscow State University. 

He previously served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Republic of Singapore, New Zealand and Australia (2019-2022). 

With a wealth of expertise in the financial, corporate, and public sectors, he has held diverse roles at institutions including the National Agency for Foreign Investments under the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, national banks and Kazpost, Kazakhstan’s post service.  

Mr. Ribaun Korm is the Secretary-General of the National Committee for ESCAP in the Royal Government of Cambodia, with ranking as Vice Minister. He also serves as an Advisor to the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority and a Senior Vice President at Pannasastra University of Cambodia. With extensive experience in international development projects funded by the UN, World Bank, and Asian Development Bank, Mr. Korm has also held high-responsibility roles in the Ministry of Rural Development and the Ministry of Labour. Mr. Korm holds a Doctor of Public Administration, a Master of Development Administration, and a Bachelor of Arts in Geography.

Mr. Hwang Jae Sang has worked at the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) for almost 20 years, currently serving as the Director General of the Development Strategy and Portfolio Management Department. He previously held roles as Director General of the Global Leadership Program Department and Country Director of KOICA Philippines Office. With a background in economics, his past stations include the role as Director of West Africa Team at KOICA. 

Supakorn graduated from the Electrical and Electronic Engineering department, Imperial College, London. In 2001, he joined NECTEC as a research scientist and led various projects involving computer vision, intelligent transportation systems, rural education promotion, and smart city. Since 2015, he has served the Royal Thai Government’s smart city initiative and led the implementation of smart city in Phuket. He joined depa in 2017 as Vice President of the Smart City Promotion department, in charge of driving smart cities around Thailand. Since April 2019, he has served as Executive Vice President in charge of smart city promotion, IoT and digital innovation, and digital platform promotion.

Ms Thuy Bich Tran is the country director of HelpAge International in Vietnam. She holds a master’s degree of development management by Asian Institute of Management. She has more than 20 years working in the development area and of those 16 years working in the area of ageing. She is one of the founders of community based, relevant, comprehensive and sustainable model in Vietnam, so called Intergenerational Self Help Club.  

Currently, since September 2022, Mr. Kazuya Suzuki serves as the Chief Representative at the Thailand Office of JICA, where he continues to contribute to international cooperation and development efforts.  

His career journey began at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry, and he later joined the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2001.  Over the years, he has held various roles within JICA, including the Southeast Asia Division and the Global Environment Department.  

Mr. Kazuya Suzuki holds a Bachelor's degree in Geology from Chiba University and a Master's degree in Environmental Science from Tsukuba University.  

Mr. Ulziisaikhan Ganbold is the Director-General, Foreign Trade and Economic Development Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia. With his expertise on trade-related challenges of landlocked developing countries he actively worked towards enhancing international trade and fostering economic cooperation during the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent economic and trade challenges. Mr. Ganbold has a background in law and international relations and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2010. 

Mr. Mohamed Imad has been heading the National Planning Department of the Ministry of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure since 2019 and is responsible for coordinating and monitoring of national and regional development. 

In previous capacities, Mr. Imad has worked in the Ministry of Finance and Treasury with a focus on policy coordination and on national planning with a focus on Public Sector Investment as well as on national budget preparation and monitoring.  

Ms. Gemma Edgar is the Counsellor for Development in the Australian Embassy in Bangkok, with responsibility for Australia's regional development programs in the Mekong sub-region. Ms. Edgar has served in multiple roles within Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including: Director, Republic of Korea and Mongolia Section; Director, International Development Policy Taskforce; First Secretary (Political), Seoul; and within the Office of the Minister for International Development. Ms.  Edgar has a PhD in Political Science and International Relations from the University of New South Wales.

Dr. Nana Künkel is heading the Agriculture and Food Cluster at GIZ Thailand. She has been programme and project director at GIZ for climate change and agriculture projects and has been involved in developing, implementing and overseeing climate change and biodiversity projects worldwide with a focus on natural resources. She served as GIZ’s focal point to the Green Climate Fund, negotiator in UNFCCC negotiations on adaptation to climate change and advisor to German ministries in the field of climate change adaptation in international cooperation. She has a background in agricultural economics and political science.

Ms. Siti Nugraha Mauludiah currently holds the position of Director-General of Information and Public Diplomacy for Indonesia, overseeing a diverse and dynamic portfolio. With a background in international affairs, she has navigated various roles in economic cooperation, multilateral relations, and technical cooperation throughout her career. Some of her previous experiences include the positions of Consul General in Shanghai to Ambassador in Warsaw. 

Mr. Arken Arystanov is the current Chairman of the Board of Kazakhstan’s Agency of International Development "KazAID". He holds a PhD in Economics from Moscow State University. 

He previously served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Republic of Singapore, New Zealand and Australia (2019-2022). 

With a wealth of expertise in the financial, corporate, and public sectors, he has held diverse roles at institutions including the National Agency for Foreign Investments under the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, national banks and Kazpost, Kazakhstan’s post service.  

Since 2018, Mr. Tian Lin has successively served as Director General of the Department of International Cooperation and Director General of the Department of Supervision and Evaluation of CIDCA.  

Prior, he served as the Counsellor for the Department of International Organizations and Conferences, Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as Counsellor for the Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations and the Counsellor for the Chinese Embassy in the Republic of Kenya.  

Prior to 2011, he served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Embassy in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 

Steven G. Olive is the Mission Director for the Regional Development Mission for Asia and a Senior Foreign Service Officer. Previously, he served as Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for USAID’s Latin America and Caribbean Bureau and as Acting Director of the Foreign Service Center in the Office of Human Capital and Talent Management. Mr. Olive has held key roles in USAID missions worldwide, including Deputy Mission Director for Somalia and Deputy Mission Director for Haiti, overseeing post-earthquake reconstruction. With extensive experience in environment, trade, agriculture, and emergency response programs, he earned a Ph.D. in Political Science, a Master’s in Public Administration, and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration.  

Ms. Zeynep Orhun Girard is the Chief of Capacity Development and Partnerships Section under the Strategy and Programme Management Division (SPMD) at the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). She leads a team providing support in project management and partnerships to ESCAP’s sectoral divisions, subregional offices and regional institutions. Her portfolio covers quality assurance and streamlining processes and tools for ESCAP’s capacity development programme, resource mobilization, donor relations, partnership agreements as well as facilitating South-South Cooperation. 

Prior to this role, Zeynep worked on strategic planning and programme monitoring at ESCAP where she established a track record in building data-based monitoring systems and modernizing processes.

Earlier on in her career Zeynep worked as a statistician for 15 years at the World Bank, UNECE, ILO and ESCAP, with a focus on household income and expenditure and labour force and employment statistics. She also provided institutional support to countries through global assessments of national statistical systems.

Zeynep is a native of Turkiye and she holds an MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a Master in Economics from the Toulouse School of Economics.

Mr. Arken Arystanov is the current Chairman of the Board of Kazakhstan’s Agency of International Development "KazAID". He holds a PhD in Economics from Moscow State University. 

He previously served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Republic of Singapore, New Zealand and Australia (2019-2022). 

With a wealth of expertise in the financial, corporate, and public sectors, he has held diverse roles at institutions including the National Agency for Foreign Investments under the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, national banks and Kazpost, Kazakhstan’s post service.  

Mr. Adnan Hameed Aliani is the Director of Strategy and Programme Management Division (SPMD) at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). In this post, he is responsible for coordinating ESCAP’s programme of work, its programme budget and its programme monitoring and evaluation. He is also responsible for coordinating ESCAP’s extrabudgetary resources, its donor relationships and its partnerships with other agencies within and outside the UN family. 

From 1 May 2021 to 30 April 2022, Mr. Aliani concurrently served as Officer-in-Charge of ESCAP’s Subregional Office for South and Southwest Asia. As Officer-in-Charge, he was responsible for implementing ESCAP’s programme of work in South Asia; strengthening relations with ESCAP member States; intergovernmental organizations and with UN country teams in the subregion. 

Mr. Aliani served as the Secretary of the Commission at ESCAP from 2012 to 2014. As the Secretary of the Commission, he was responsible for dealing with intergovernmental matters at ESCAP, particularly overseeing the legislative meetings of ESCAP, including the Commission and managing ESCAP’s relationships with its member States. Before assuming the position of the Secretary of the Commission, Mr. Aliani was the Chief of the Sustainable Urban Development Section at ESCAP. 

He has worked with the United Nations for over 20 years and has coordinated several UN projects related to poverty reduction, housing, urban planning, environmental management, community-based development and local government development in almost all developing countries of Asia and the Pacific. He was instrumental in establishing and managing CITYNET, the largest and most active network of local authorities in Asia and the Pacific. He was instrumental in establishing LOGOTRI, the network of local government training and research institutes in Asia and the Pacific as well as the Asia-Pacific Union for Housing Finance. 

Mr. Aliani was born in Pakistan. After completing his secondary schooling in Switzerland, he received his bachelor's degree from the United States. He returned to Asia to complete his Master's degree in planning from the Asian Institute of Technology.