Multi-year Expert Meeting on Commodities and Development, 16th session

Luz Maria de la Mora is the Director of UNCTAD's Division on International Trade and Commodities. As a former Vice-Minister for International Trade and decades of government and private sector positions, Ms. de la Mora developed a career in international trade policy, negotiation, operations, and trade promotion. 

During her tenure as Vice-Minister for International Trade of Mexico from 2018 to 2022, Ms. de la Mora led Mexico's trade and investment policy, overseeing fourteen free trade agreements with 51 countries. To bolster Mexico's development, she steered discussions in the World Trade Organization, the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, and Pacific Alliance, among others. She also coordinated policy dialogues and handled private sector consultations.

Ms. de la Mora holds a PhD in Political Science from Yale University, USA, a Master's degree in International Affairs from Carleton University, Canada, and a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from El Colegio de México, Mexico.

She is fluent in English and Spanish, and proficient in French.

Rodrigo Cárcamo Díaz is Chief (a.i.) at the Commodities Policy Implementation Section of United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva, Switzerland. 

During his more than two decades of experience working on different development issues, he has authored different publications on development issues, including journal articles, a book, book chapters and research papers. His current research interests are focused on sustainable agricultural value chains for export in developing countries. 

He also leads capacity-building projects on this topic in different developing countries, organizes international policy dialogue events, and represents UNCTAD in different international fora linked to agricultural commodities, trade and development issues. 

He holds an MPhil in Economics from the University of Oxford, and a Diploma in Statistics from the Universidad Católica de Chile.

Clovis Freire Junior is Chief of Extractive Commodities Section, of the Division on International Trade and Commodities of UNCTAD in Geneva. He is an Economist specialized in economic diversification and strategies for building productive capacities in developing countries. His work supports the structural transformation and sustainable development of commodity-dependent developing countries.

He has over 20 years of work experience in the United Nations in programmes related to commodity dependence, least developed countries, technology and innovation for development, and disaster risk reduction. He holds a degree in Computer Engineering from the Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA), Brazil, a Master’s degree in Computer Sciences from the University de Brasília (UnB), an MBA in Strategic Management of Information Systems from the Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV), Brazil, and a PhD in Economics from the Maastricht University, in Maastricht, the Netherlands.

Nathan Kemp is one of a small team of economists at the International Grains Council (IGC), an intergovernmental organization which seeks to further international cooperation in grains trade, including by improving market transparency through information-sharing, analysis and consultation on grain market and policy developments. Mr. Kemp’s main focus is overseeing the Council’s grain production estimates, maize S&D fundamentals and price reporting. He is also a co-editor of the flagship monthly Grain Market Report (GMR). Before joining the IGC, he worked in investment banking, focusing mainly on macroeconomic fundamentals and their impact on currency and bond markets.  

Mr. Sergio René Araujo-Enciso is an Economist at the Medium-Term Outlook and Market Analysis Team at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Mr. Araujo-Enciso contributes with market and policy analyses to various pieces of work and publications, including the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook. In addition, he also has sound experience in economic modelling. Before joining FAO, Mr. Araujo-Enciso was a research fellow at the European Commission Joint Research Centre (EU-JRC) based in Seville Spain, and a research assistant at the George August Gottingen University in Germany, where he gained his PhD degree.

Kenneth Strzepek is Research Scientist, Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Professor Emeritus of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Boulder at Colorado.

Kenneth Strzepek has spent 30 years as a researcher and practitioner at the nexus of engineering, environmental and economics systems, primarily related to water resource planning and management, river basin planning, and modeling of agricultural, environmental, and water resources systems. His work includes applications of operations research, engineering economics, micro-economics and environmental economics to a broad range applications: from project scale to national and global investment policy studies. He has worked for a range of national governments as well as the United Nations, the World Bank, the USAID. He is Professor Emeritus of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and recently a Visiting Professor of Economics and Affiliated Professor in College of Architecture and Planning at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He is a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute as well as an International Fellow at the Center for Environmental Economics and Policy for Africa and Examiner in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He has been a contributing author to the Second IPCC assessment, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the World Water Vision, and the UN World Water Development Report. He is currently the USAID Scientific Liaison Office on Water and Climate Change to the CGIAR. Prof. Strzepek has a PhD in Water Resources Systems Analysis from MIT, an MA in Economics from the University of Colorado and is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Economics at the University of Hamburg, Germany.

Mrs. Ameina Shafi Mohin joined the Department of Commerce, Colombo in 2000. Since joining the Department, she has been serving in various capacities, including Director/Head of the Multilateral Trade Affairs Division, Director/Head of Rules of Origin Division, Director/Head, Trade Promotion Division, Deputy Director/Head, Bilateral Trade Division, and Deputy Director/Assistant Director, Bilateral Affairs/Multilateral Affairs/Trade Promotion. Since May 2025, she has been serving as the Director General of Commerce, overseeing the overall operations and strategic direction of the Department. 

Prior to this appointment, she served as the Director/Head, Multilateral Trade Division, and also co-chaired the Sub Committee on Trade Remedies in the Sri Lanka National Trade Negotiation Committee, including the recently signed Sri Lanka–Thailand FTA, the Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement with India, and the Preferential Trade Agreement between Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Moreover, she represented the Department of Commerce in the formulation of the National Policy on Trade. Representing the National Trade Facilitation Committee and the National Trade Facilitation Secretariat, she coordinated work related to the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, in coordination with Sri Lanka Customs. She was also involved in the negotiations of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies along with relevant stakeholders and the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the WTO. In addition, she prepared Sri Lanka’s position on the E-moratorium in consultation with stakeholders. She was entrusted with the supervision of Sri Lanka’s 5th WTO Trade Policy Review Mechanism, coordinating with all trade and economic agencies. 

In her diplomatic career, she has served in various Sri Lankan missions abroad as Minister/Deputy Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the Rome-based UN agencies (FAO, WFP & IFAD), Minister (Commercial) at the Sri Lanka Consulate General in Frankfurt, Minister Counsellor (Commercial) at the Sri Lanka High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, and First Secretary (Commercial) at the Sri Lanka Embassy in Washington, D.C. 

Prior to joining the Department of Commerce, she was attached to the Department of Export Agriculture as a Research Officer (Economics). Immediately after graduation, She was recruited by the University of Peradeniya as an Assistant Lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture. 

She holds a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Economics from the Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture, Peradeniya, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture (majoring in Economics) from the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya. 
 

Ambassador Nur Rakhman Setyoko has more than twenty years of extensive experience in leading as well as participating in various negotiations on critical trade agreements at the multilateral, regional and bilateral level. His previous roles include Director of WTO Negotiation (2021-2023), Head of the Planning Bureau (2023-30 September 2024) and Trade/Commercial Attaché (2017-2020) at the Embassy of The Republic of Indonesia in London. His expertise as Trade Analyst at the Trade Research and Development Agency (TREDA), has enabled him to further contribute to the formulation and implementation of trade policies that align with Indonesia’s economic goals. He holds a Master Degree in International and Development Economics from the Australian National University (ANU).
 

Dr. Mainza Obby Nicholus is a Chief Agriculture Economist in-charge of Trade and Agribusiness – Department of Agribusiness and Marketing for the Ministry of Agriculture in Zambia, and the National Secretary for the Economics Association of Zambia. He is also known for his work as an agribusiness specialist and a consultant, a public speaker, a business masterclass tutor, and a part-time University lecturer. He has been in the agribusiness sector for over 20 years of practice and mentorship. He is a frequent TV discussant on African economies and agri-food systems, and has authored the book "I SEE GOLD WHERE OTHERS SEE DUST" with another one to be launched on 20th December, 2025 titled “15 PRINCIPLES OF MONEY MASTERY”. He holds multiple academic and professional qualifications from PhD, MSc, MBA, PGD, BSc to many more corporate certificates in governance and project management. He is the Zambian Man of the Year award winner for Economist of the Year 2025.

Sofía Boza is the Ambassador of Chile to the WTO, WIPO, UNCTAD, and the ITC since July 2022. She co-coordinates the Joint Statement Initiative on Investment Facilitation for Development at the WTO; in 2023 she chaired the WTO Working Group on Trade and Technology Transfer; and in 2024 the WTO Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Previously, she was associate professor and head of the Department of Rural Management and Innovation at the University of Chile, and professor at its Institute of International Studies, as well as external evaluator for the Budget Office of the Chilean Ministry of Finance. 

She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics (Honors) from the University of Seville, a professional title in Commercial Engineering from the University of Chile, and a master’s in Economic Development and Public Policies and a PhD in Economics from the Autonomous University of Madrid.

Halia Zarina António Varinda has worked in the Department of Industrial Policy, Planning and Development. Her professional career, spanning over 15 years, has been shaped by industrial competitiveness, the implementation of industrial policy and strategy in general, but more specifically in the areas of quality infrastructure (conformity assessment, verifying that products, processes and systems comply with standards and regulations through: certifications, inspections, tests, supplier declarations and labeling). She has also worked in industrial policy, modernizing production processes at the national level, promoting actions that lead to increased efficiency and competitiveness in industrial activity, and monitoring the progress and implementation of major projects related to the sector, with a special focus on the manufacturing industry. 

She is passionate about Industrial Development. Throughout her career, she has distinguished herself in various sectors related to Industrial Policy and Development, including: technical specialist in supporting SMEs involved in agro-industrial activities through rapid interventions aimed at enabling them to export and compete in the EU market, also with the objective of promoting industrial research and development for economic diversification; technical specialist in quality infrastructure for the development of Africa; technical member in the drafting of technical standards and regulations for industrial production processes; technical member of the National Program for bio-fortification and industrial fortification of foods with micronutrients, with a view to contributing to food and nutritional security; technical member of the Codex Alimentarius and periodic scheduled inspection of production processes in industries mainly linked to agro-processing.

Halia maintains a daily focus on the development needs of Mozambican industry and is extensively involved in various initiatives with the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) is the national metrology institute of Germany, with whom she is still working today in the area of quality infrastructure for Africa, and particularly in the SADC region. She holds a Master's degree in Business Management and Business Communication and a Bachelor's degree in Agricultural Engineering.
 

Abdoulkarim Saidali is an Associate Economist in the International Trade and Commodities Division at UNCTAD, where he focuses on economic research addressing key development challenges. 

Abdoulkarim Saidali has contributed to a diverse range of publications exploring critical issues such as access to agricultural inputs in Togo's cotton sector, the digital practices of informal enterprises in Senegal, and the price volatility of minerals essential for the energy transition, along with their impact on the economic development of producing countries. 

Abdoulkarim Saidali holds an engineering degree in applied statistics and economics from the Institut National de Statistique et d'Économie Appliquée in Rabat, and a master’s degree in development and population economics from the University of Bordeaux.
 

Dr. Andrew Walker is a Vice President of The Global Gas Centre (GGC), a non-profit organization, based in Geneva, dedicated to executives and experts of natural gas companies who want to share views and best practices on sustainable energy with a particular focus on natural gas.   He is also the Vice President for LNG Strategy and Communication for Cheniere Energy, the leading U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter. He is located in London and is responsible for the LNG Strategy and Market Outlook of Cheniere, reporting into the Chief Commercial Officer. Until October 2015 he was Vice President for Global LNG - and prior to that Head of LNG Strategy - at BG Group where he worked for over 20 years before joining Cheniere.  During his career in LNG, he has been located in Singapore, Egypt, the USA and UK and has worked on numerous LNG projects including Atlantic LNG in Trinidad and Tobago, Egyptian LNG, and Dragon LNG in the UK.  Dr. Walker has a Doctorate in Geology from Imperial College, University of London. 
 

Alexander Bressers is a Senior Oil Market Analyst at the International Energy Agency (IEA), where his primary focus is on global oil demand and prices. Before joining the IEA in 2022, he worked for fifteen years as a commodity portfolio manager and futures trader for a number of banks and investment funds, developing quantitative trading strategies in the energy and agricultural markets. He holds a Master’s degree in economics from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. 

Guillaume Albasini is an independent consultant in the mining, metals and energy sectors. Previously, he was a research officer at the CRES Foundation in Geneva where he carried out various studies on the geopolitics of energy and raw materials and the challenges faced by producing countries. He is a graduate in political science from the University of Lausanne and holder of a Master in international relations from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. His most recent research focuses on the impact of the energy transition on demand for energy and mining commodities. 

Dr. Przemyslaw Kowalski is a Senior Economist at the OECD’s Trade and Agriculture Directorate, where is responsibilities include international trade in critical raw materials. He previously served as President of the Center for Social and Economic Research in Poland and held academic positions in economics at Sciences Po and the University of Sussex. He has contributed to numerous articles and books on economics and economic policy and has held various consultancy and advisory roles in international macroeconomics and trade.

Ms. Sigam is a natural capital governance expert with over 30 years of multilateral experience. She holds an MBA from MIT and has taught economy at university. At UNCTAD, she led major programmes on Africa’s oil and gas trade, risk management and finance, forging partnerships across 30+ countries. She also helped shape the Africa Mining Vision and drove its implementation through the African Minerals Development Center,  where she led Human and Institutional capacity development. She is currently advancing UNCTAD’s work on just transition strategies for oil and gas producing developing countries, as well as diversification and value addition in critical energy transition minerals. She also serves on the boards of nonprofit organisations in Africa and Switzerland.

Mr. Shivolo has been employed at the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy since 1996 in various positions and is currently a Deputy Executive Director, Department of Mines. He serves as Director on various boards and Government Committees for the implementation of Government Directives and Programs. He was the longest serving Mining Commissioner in the Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy. 

Mr. Shivolo studied geology, mining and electrical engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, USA. He holds B.SC degrees in General Engineering and Materials Science Engineering from New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology, Socorro, New Mexico, USA. 
 

Dr. Leslie Ramsammy is currently the Ambassador/ Permanent Representative of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana to Switzerland, accredited to the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation in Geneva. 

Dr. Leslie Ramsammy was Chairman of the Executive Board of Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV /AIDS, Chairman of the CARI COM Council for Human and Social Development and Chairman of the Caribbean Public Health Agency. Dr. Ramsammy's impressive and extensive public health stewardship saw him elected Chairman of the Global Fund for Affordable Medicines for Malaria, a position he held between 2010 and 2011. Dr. Ramsammy also served as a Director of the Global Fund Board representing Latin America and the Caribbean and a member of the Policy and Strategy Committee of the Global Fund also representing Latin America and the Caribbean. 

Dr. Ramsammy served as the President of the World Health Organization 61st World Assembly (2008- 2009). His appointment made it the first time a Minister of the Americas would hold that post since 1972. He became only the second representative from the region to do so. Prior to this post, he served as President of the Pan American Health Organization's 47th Directing Council (2006-2008). 

Dr. Ramsammy since 2001 advocated for a trajectory of elimination of HIV, which has now become a global goal and defined by UNAIDS as the Zero Goals-"Zero New Infections", "Zero Discrimination", and "Zero AIDS-related deaths". The Guyana National AIDS Program made tremendous strides under Dr. Ramsammy's leadership as Health Minister with respects to reducing the spread of the disease, in particular the reduction of pregnant women testing positive, and the number of babies being born with HIV. Dr. Ramsammy was honored by the Guyana National AIDS Programme Secretariat in 2010 for his vision to pursue a trajectory of elimination of new HIV infections and for his successful decade long stewardship as Health Minister. In 2011 he was presented Outstanding Leadership Award by PANCAP.
 

Depuis septembre 2024, Mme Tiguidanké Dabo occupe le poste de Cheffe du Service Planification–Suivi & Évaluation, où elle supervise la programmation des projets et le dispositif de suivi-évaluation du département. Elle a auparavant dirigé la Cellule de Suivi-Évaluation (2021-2024) ainsi que la Cellule Statistique (2017-2021).

Mme Tiguidanké Dabo est Ingénieure de l’industrie minière diplômée de l’Institut Supérieur des Mines et Géologie de Boké, Mme possède plus de treize ans d’expérience au sein de l’administration minière guinéenne. Spécialisée en planification stratégique, suivi-évaluation et gouvernance du secteur, elle a contribué à plusieurs réformes majeures ayant modernisé la gestion des politiques publiques minières.

Son parcours transversal au Ministère des Mines et de la Géologie l’a amenée à travailler avec l’ensemble des directions techniques et des institutions impliquées dans la planification et le pilotage budgétaire, lui offrant une vision globale des enjeux institutionnels du secteur.

Elle a participé à l’élaboration de documents clés tels que la Politique Minière, les programmes nationaux (PNDES, PRI), les plans d’actions ministériels, les Cadres de Dépenses à Moyen Terme (CDMT) et les Programmes d’Investissement Public (PIP).
Bilingue français-anglais, elle maîtrise les outils de planification, d’analyse et de gestion de projet, et a renforcé ses compétences à travers plusieurs formations internationales, notamment en gouvernance minière (Université du Queensland, Australie), en leadership exécutif (Nanyang Technological University, Singapour) et en data mining (Kigali).
 

Rufaro Nyambuya is an experienced Senior Economist within the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Zimbabwe, with extensive experience in rural industrialisation, value chain development and industrial policy. He plays a strategic role in shaping policies that promote economic diversification, local content and sustainable industrial growth. 

With a strong foundation in economic analysis, he supports the identification and uprading of key national and regional value chains particularly in manufacturing. He also collaborates with stakeholders across government, industry and development partners to implement value chain strategies aligned with national policies.
 

Mr. Andreas Edele is a Senior Trade and Investment Policy Adviser at the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). He provides advisory services to the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) on the contributions of trade and investment to sustainable development. On behalf of BMZ, GIZ recently conducted a study entitled “Domestic value addition & critical mineral value chains – How effective are industrial, investment and trade policies?”. Previously, Andreas worked as senior project manager in the Sino-German Corporate Social Responsibility Project based in Beijing (2010-2012), as development cooperation adviser at the Federation of German Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services (2013-2015) and as senior adviser to BMZ on issues related to sustainability in garment supply chains (2016-2024). He holds a master’s degree in International Relations from University of Tübingen (Germany).

Ambassador Achsanul Habib is currently a Vice President of the Trade and Development Board 2025-2026. He leads Indonesia’s engagement across a wide spectrum of multilateral issues, ranging from economic development, trade, and global health to human rights, humanitarian affairs, migration, disaster reduction, disarmament, and environmental matters at key institutions including the UN, WHO, UNCTAD, WIPO, and the Conference on Disarmament. He previously served as Director for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs (2018–2023), Political Coordinator at Indonesia’s Mission to the UN in New York (2015–2018), and posted in Geneva (2008–2012) and Pyongyang (1999–2004). He holds degrees from Padjadjaran University and GRIPS Tokyo, specializing in regional and East Asian security studies.