Crafted by a dedicated team of seasoned experts, the program strategically addresses challenges limiting developing countries' engagement in global trade, serving as a testament to the commitment and proficiency of these professionals.
Leveraging their wealth of knowledge, they design a comprehensive and impactful initiative aimed at empowering nations.
Mr. Peter Lunenborg is a Researcher at the South Centre, a Geneva-based international organisation with 54 Member countries. He is a seasoned treaty negotiator, policy advisor and trainer in the area of international trade and investment policy. His areas of work include trade and environment, private standards, non-tariff barriers, investment facilitation, fisheries subsidies and agriculture. Mr. Lunenborg is a member of the Advisory Panel to United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS). He has, among others, published in the Ashgate Research Companion to International Trade Policy and the Global Trade and Customs Journal. He has been actively working with several UN agencies including UN-DESA, UNECA and UNEP and other organisations such as Commonwealth Secretariat.
Swati Sharma is an international trade lawyer and economic policy expert specialising in services, digital trade, green logistics, and foreign investment. Currently, she is working as a trade policy consultant with TradeWorthy. Swati has extensive experience in providing technical assistance, leading policy projects, and advising governments on free trade agreements and trade policy across Asia-Pacific, ASEAN, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Europe. Formerly a Consultant at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and a Legal and Economic Affairs Officer at the WTO, In addition, Swati has worked with think tanks, Law Firms, NGOs, and academic institutes. With a specific interest in the economic development of LDC and emerging economies, working on cross-cutting issues in trade in services, she has published reports, policy papers, and blog articles on a range of aspects. She holds a Master of Law with Summa Cum Laude and a diploma in Economics from the World Trade Institute. With her expertise and experience, Swati is dedicated to advancing innovative economic policy and development, actively shaping international trade discussions.
Greg is a specialist in trade law and policy. His research interests are principally in world trade law (multilateral and regional) and its interface with key policy areas including sustainable development, public health, foreign policy, and industrial strategy. Greg joined Bristol Law School as an Associate Professor in 2022. He was previously Lecturer and then Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Liverpool, and prior to that, Junior Research Fellow in Law at the Queen's College, Oxford. Greg spent four years working on trade law and policy in the UK government: first in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office as an AHRC-ESRC-FCO Knowledge Exchange Fellow (2018-2020) and then as a Trade Policy Specialist in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (2020-2022). He is the co-founder of the Trade & Public Policy (TaPP) Network, the UK's largest network of academic trade experts.
Professor Sangeeta Khorana has an extensive career encompassing academia, government, and management consulting. Her career also includes roles as a civil servant in the Indian government and a secondment with the United Kingdom’s Department for Business and Trade. As a leading researcher on trade negotiations, she advises governments on trade negotiations and actively contributes her insights to various UK government committees. She also holds the position of a Trustee Director on various profit and not-for-profit organisation boards. Her extensive academic portfolio encompasses a multitude of publications, including books, book chapters, and journal articles on trade policy issues. Her track record includes completion of successful projects for the European Commission, Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), World Bank, UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Commonwealth Secretariat, UNCTAD India, and several others.
Bryan Mercurio is the Simon F.S. Li Professor of Law at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Specializing in international economic law, Bryan is a leading expert in the intersection between trade law and intellectual property rights. His work also frequently deals with free trade agreements, trade in services, dispute settlement and increasingly international investment law. Prior 2007, Professor Mercurio taught in the faculty of law at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). Prior to academia, he worked in government as a trade policy officer, served as a trade negotiator and practiced international trade, intellectual property and commercial law in the US and Australia. He has extensive experience in negotiating free trade agreements and in assisting governments with the technical aspects of drafting services schedules for market access commitments and reservations.
Dr. Badri Narayanan Gopalakrishnan is an affiliate faculty member and senior economist with the School of Environmental and Forestry Sciences, University of Washington-Seattle. Furthermore, he co-founded Infinite Sum Modelling LLC, with offices in Canada, the USA, India, China, and Hong Kong, and presence worldwide. Before moving to Seattle, he served Purdue University’s Center for Global Trade Analysis for almost a decade and prior to that, he was a Fellow at ICRIER (Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations), New Delhi, India. His broad expertise lies in economic analysis for business strategy and public policy, employing a variety of quantitative models. Recently, apart from his 18+ years of applied economic research experience in the trade, energy/environment, and development issues, he has been working on several other issues such as business economics of new technologies, advising several start-ups in these sectors.
Mr. Rishabha Meena is a law graduate from National Law University, Jodhpur with a specialization in International Trade and Investment law. He currently advises the Government of India on its foreign trade and investment polices. He also assists in India’s dispute settlement at the WTO. In line with his expertise, he is part of the negotiating team of the Trade in Goods chapter for India’s FTA with EU and Canada. He has participated in 16th ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law. Rishabha has held the position of Associate Editor in Trade, Law and Development Journal. Furthermore, he has attended 5th CWS-WTI Joint Academy on International Trade Law and Policy, 2018, and WIPO-KOREA Summer School on Intellectual Property, 2019. He has published articles and blogs on various cross-cutting issues of international economic law. His interest lies in international trade law and its intersection with other areas of law.
