Asia Briefing LIVE 2021

He studied Medicine at the National University of Singapore after being awarded the President’s Scholarship in 1980. Following post-graduate specialist training in Ophthalmology, he was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1991.

He was appointed Medical Director of Singapore National Eye Centre in 1999 and Chief Executive Officer of Singapore General Hospital in 2000. Concurrently, he was Commanding Officer of the 2nd Combat Support Hospital of the Singapore Armed Forces from 1999 to 2002.

Dr Balakrishnan has helmed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) since October 2015. Singapore was Chair of ASEAN in 2018. Singapore also hosted the landmark Singapore Summit between the leaders of the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 2018. During the COVID-19 pandemic, MFA undertook its largest consular operation to bring home Singaporeans stranded overseas. Singapore also co-chairs the Friends of the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility, which supports vaccine multilateralism and access to COVID-19 vaccines for all.

Dr Balakrishnan was the Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation Initiative from 2014 to 2021. He led the conceptualisation and implementation of key initiatives such as the National Digital Identity (Singpass), integrated digital services (LifeSG and MyInfo) and digital finance (PayNow and SGQR). He drove the adoption of new approaches within the Singapore Government, in particular, the use of digital contact tracing systems to combat COVID-19 (TraceTogether and SafeEntry), the streamlining of business applications (GoBusiness), and the adoption of agile in-house software development (SG Tech Stack). He also led the development of strategies and policy reviews that are foundational to Smart Nation, including the Digital Government Blueprint, National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, and Public Sector Data Security Review.

Dr Balakrishnan was a ministerial facilitator for many rounds of negotiations between 2011 to 2015 that led to the Paris Agreement on climate change at the United Nations.  He initiated the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act in 2014 to deter offending local and overseas entities that cause haze.

Dr Balakrishnan rolled out numerous key initiatives and policies throughout his political career. At the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, he increased the capacity for desalination and NEWater production substantially. In 2011, he restarted the building of new hawker centres after 26 years, to ensure that everyone has access to a wide variety of good, fresh, and affordable food in an informal setting, and to enable local hawkers to make a good living. He initiated the Progressive Wage Model in 2014 for cleaners, who became the first group of workers to enjoy increased wages and better terms of employment. At the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, he established the ComCare system to enhance comprehensive social assistance for all Singaporeans in need. He also oversaw the redevelopment of the National Stadium in 2010. At the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, he worked on the National Broadband Fibre Network project to bring ultra-high speed, low-cost, and efficient fibre broadband to all households and enterprises in Singapore.

Dr Balakrishnan also moved new legislation and amendments to existing legislation in Parliament, including the Mental Capacity Act, which provides for Lasting Power of Attorney so that seniors can nominate a proxy.

She holds a degree in International Politics and English, from the National University of Singapore. She began her career in radio, covering regional politics. In 2002, she joined Bloomberg Television and is currently News Correspondent and Anchor, Bloomberg Television, and hosts “High Flyers”, which has been nominated for Best Talk Show at the Asian TV Awards.

Based in Singapore, she has been at the heart of events driving the transformation of Asia. She has reported on major financial and political developments such as Suharto's downfall, the bloody anti-government clashes in Thailand and elections across ASEAN, India and Pakistan.

Amin has interviewed world leaders in politics and industry, including Lee Kuan Yew, Mahathir Mohamad, Joko Widodo, Benigno Aquino, Thaksin Shinawatra, Tony Blair, Joe Biden, Al Gore, Timothy Geithner, Paul Volcker, Jean-Claude Trichet, Stanley Fischer, John Travolta and Jenson Button.

She has spoken at conferences such as the World Economic Forum, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, ASEAN and Asian Development Bank, and moderated discussions organized by the Milken Institute, Blackrock, UBS, Barclays, SALT and Aberdeen Asset Management. She speaks English, Malay and Bahasa Indonesia.

Prior to his appointment as Chief Executive Officer in April 2014, Matt held the position of Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director of the company.

Until June 2011, Echo Entertainment Group was part of Tabcorp Holdings, Australia’s premier diversified gambling company. In November 2015, the company changed its name to The Star Entertainment Group.

Matt joined Tabcorp in early 2006 as Chief Financial Officer after holding various roles with McKinsey and Company for 14 years, where he focused on building a substantial practice in both post-merger management and financial services, working across four continents.

Mr Bekier holds a degree in Economics and Commerce as well as a PhD in Finance from St Gallen University in Switzerland.

She has held a range of senior positions including Head of Established Markets and Special Adviser to the CEO on Strategy and China (Austrade) and Senior Adviser to the then Defence and Foreign Ministers. Ms Browning was also a Trade Negotiator at the Doha Development Round and for the free trade agreements Australia negotiated with the USA and Singapore. She has previously served overseas in Thailand and Singapore.

Ms Browning holds a Masters in Foreign Affairs & Trade and a Bachelor of Economics with Honours, both from Monash University.

Before joining Morgan Stanley in 2020, Emily was Global Head of ESG Research and Integration for Manulife Investment Management in Hong Kong and Boston, where she built an ESG investing program for public markets investments encompassing research, investee stewardship, thought leadership and thematic product development.

Previously, Emily was Head of Asia-Pacific ESG Research for MSCI Inc. in Beijing and Hong Kong, leading a team of ESG research analysts covering the Asia-Pacific constituents of the MSCI All Country World Index. Emily commenced her career as a capital markets lawyer with Baker & McKenzie in Melbourne, Australia, with a focus on funds management, capital raisings, and REITs. Emily is a member of the Principles for Responsible Investment’s Listed Equities Integration Subcommittee, and formerly served as rotating chair of the Steering Committee of the Climate Action 100+ investor engagement initiative, and as chair of the Asian Investor Group on Climate Change. She holds an MBA from the University of Oxford, and Bachelors of Laws and Arts (honors) from the University of Melbourne.

In recent years his research extended to political and social risk management for Chinese corporations engaged in non-financial investments abroad, including the publication of an edited volume Chinese Investment Overseas: case studies on environmental and social risks, Peking University Press, 2014 and Risk Management under the Belt and Road Initiative: economic and societal dimensions, Oceanic Press, 2017).   

He is invited to serve as non-resident fellow in a number of public policy think tanks and advisory member on several international exchange associations, including the China chapter of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSPAC) and the China Association for International Exchange. 

He joined the faculty of Peking University in 2007 and held prior positions at the Renmin University of China, the International University of Japan and University of Macau. He studied at the East West Center and the University of Hawaii, where he earned a Doctoral degree in political science.

Since joining the company in 1997, Vera has held a range of analytical and leadership roles at S&P Global Ratings, including extensive experience assigning ratings to structured finance securities across all asset classes and various markets. She has also played leading roles in criteria development, research and investor outreach, and is a regular speaker at industry forums and investor seminars around the globe.

Vera’s previous experience includes corporate treasury and economic consulting.

She holds a Master of Commerce degree from The University of Melbourne and a Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance and Investment from the Securities Institute of Australia.

He spent more than a decade as a reporter based in Tokyo, Jakarta, and New York. He is now an independent writer, editor and consultant; is researching a book about Australia and Asia; and writes a column on economic diplomacy for The Lowy Institute’s The Interpreter. He is a member of the Australia-ASEAN Council board (AAC); and a former member of the Australian National University Indonesia Project advisory board; the Australia Japan Foundation board; and the steering committee for the Australia-Indonesia Dialogue.  

His connection with the region began as a high school Indonesian language student and then as an exchange student in the Philippines. This year he has been a member of an international observer group during the Indian election; attended the Australia-Vietnam Young Leadership Dialogue in Ho Chi Minh City; and served on the selection panel for an AAC Muslim Exchange Program in South East Asia.

Previous assignments include Kathmandu (2012-2015), where he was Political and Economic Counselor; Hanoi (2008-2011) and Tashkent (2002-2005) as a political officer; and Taipei (2000-2002) as a consular officer, as well as an earlier stint on the China Desk (2005-2007).  He’s the recipient of several State Department honors, including recognition as the Department’s outstanding human rights officer for his work to combat torture and safeguard vulnerable NGOs in Uzbekistan.

Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Mike worked as a dock worker on an oyster farm in Washington State’s Puget Sound and as an adjunct professor of political science at San Francisco State University.

Mike earned a Ph.D. and MA in political science from the University of California, Berkeley and an undergraduate degree in international politics from Georgetown University.  He completed his dissertation research on a Fulbright scholarship at the Univesiti Sains Malaysia in Penang, Malaysia and has studied at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Taiwan Normal University, and the State University of Makassar in Ujung Pandang, Indonesia.

Mike speaks Mandarin Chinese, and at one time or another has also been fluent in Nepali, Vietnamese, Russian, and Indonesian. He has three children and is married to USAID Foreign Service Officer Brett Jones.

Mr. Gosper is responsible for the overall management of the operations of the Budget, People, and Management Systems Department; Corporate Services Department; Office of the General Counsel; Information Technology Department; Office of the Secretary; and Procurement, Portfolio and Financial Management Department.

Prior to joining ADB, Mr. Gosper was the Australian High Commissioner to Singapore, and a member of the Asia Society Australia Advisory Council. With 40 years of experience working with multilateral and regional institutions and running large public sector organizations, he has profound knowledge and experience in digitalization, multilateral trade negotiations, regional cooperation, investments and trade promotions, international relations, diplomacy, and corporate administrations.

Mr. Gosper oversaw corporate reform initiatives as former Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Trade and Investment Commission and Deputy Secretary of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade that lifted gender diversity and equality, and put in place new policy directions toward greater client focus. As Ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, he led Australia’s multilateral trade initiatives and chaired the WTO General Council and WTO Dispute Settlement Body. He held senior roles in the Australian Embassies in Washington and Tokyo, as well as served on the Board of the former Australian Export Finance.

Mr. Gosper has contributed in initiating policy and administrative reforms, supporting infrastructure developments, multilateral negotiations, and promoting trade and investment relationships.

Mr. Gosper completed his Bachelor of Arts Degree with Honors at Macquarie University. He acquired a graduate certificate in Public Policy from University of New England.

She has led a large body of clinical trial, modelling and experimental research on face masks and respirators for prevention of infection. Her area of vaccine expertise is vaccination of older adults and immunosuppressed people, as well as the role of influenza and other infections on triggering cardiovascular events, and how these can be prevented by vaccines. She is interested in surveillance for epidemics and biothreats, and developed an automated, open source rapid epidemic observatory, Epiwatch, to detect early signals of serious epidemic or bioterrorism events. She has over 400 peer reviewed publications. She has received many awards including the Sir Henry Wellcome Medal and Prize from the Association of Military Surgeons of the US, the Public Health Association of Australia’s National Immunisation Award (for her research on adult vaccination), and the Frank Fenner Award for Research in Infectious Diseases.

A senior career officer from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Ms Millar has focused most of her career on international security, and multilateral issues as well as Australia’s relations with the United States.

Her most recent previous assignment (April to September 2018) was Deputy Secretary, International Security, Humanitarian and Consular Group in DFAT. From October 2017 to March 2018 she served as Chargé d'Affaires a.i. at the Australian Embassy to Belgium and Luxembourg and Australia’s Missions to the European Union and NATO. From January 2014 to September 2017 Ms Millar was Deputy Head of Mission at the Australian Embassy in Washington. Previously in Canberra she served as First Assistant Secretary, International Security Division (2013) and Head of the United Nations Security Council Taskforce (2010-2012) before which she was the Ambassador to the United Nations at Geneva and Ambassador for Disarmament (2006-2010).

Ms Millar previously served as Australian Ambassador for People Smuggling Issues and head of the International Organisations and Legal Division. Earlier in her career she was seconded to the Australian Office of National Assessments as Senior Americas Analyst and also posted to the Australian Mission to the United Nations in New York and Australia’s Embassies in Washington and Hanoi.

Ms Millar was educated at the University of Cambridge and holds a MA/BA (Hons) degree in history.

He is the author of fifteen books, ten of them about China, and has written widely for many magazines and newspapers. His most recent book is a novel about the US and China, My Old Home. His recent non-fiction works include: Wealth and Power: China’s Long March to the Twenty-first Century; Virtual Tibet; The China Reader; and Mandate of Heaven: The Legacy of Tiananmen Square and the Next Generation of China’s Leaders. He is a fellow at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University and a senior fellow at the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Southern California.

In this role he is committed to driving transformative change that will support students and staff from all backgrounds to excel and realise their potential, solve the world’s most pressing challenges and secure a prosperous future for the University.

Professor Scott is a highly respected and successful senior leader of large and complex institutions, across public service, education and the media. His notable roles include Secretary of the NSW Department of Education (2016 to 2021), Managing Director of the ABC (2006 to 2016) and Editor-in-Chief of Fairfax newspapers.

He has been Australia’s High Commissioner to India, served at the Australian Embassy in Washington working on the Australia-US Alliance and been Australia’s Senior Official for APEC.  He has led Australia’s consular support for Australians overseas, media and parliamentary engagement for the Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio, and overseen comprehensive incoming government briefing for two Foreign Ministers and Australia’s Trade Minister.

Mr Suckling was most recently Australia’s Ambas­­­­sador for the Environment, leading on Paris Agreement negotiations, strategy for Australia’s $1 billion climate finance commitment and bilateral cooperation on climate change with key countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.  This included chairing the influential Umbrella Group of developed countries - including the United States, Russia, Japan and Canada - in UNFCCC negotiations for four years.  He is currently a Senior Partner at Pollination, a specialist climate advisory and investment firm.

Stroud-Watts has conducted in-depth interviews with many leading business, financial and corporate newsmakers including Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan, Nobel Laureate for Economics Angus Deaton, World Bank Managing Director Bertrand Badre and the founders of China’s largest conglomerate, Fosun. She has also reported live from major events, most recently China’s 19th Party Congress in Beijing.

Stroud-Watts joined Bloomberg in 2015 as an anchor for Bloomberg Television in Hong Kong. Prior to joining Bloomberg, she was the Senior Business Anchor for Channel NewsAsia in Singapore. She began her career as a lawyer in Melbourne before making the switch to journalism as a Business Anchor with CCTV News in Beijing, and subsequently to Fox Business Network as its Asia Markets Reporter.

Fluent in Mandarin and English, Stroud-Watts graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, History and Political Science, and a Bachelor of Law degree.

Ambassador Yamagami has previously served overseas in diplomatic postings to the United Kingdom as Political Minister (2009 – 2012), Geneva, Switzerland as Economic Counsellor for the Permanent Mission to the United Nations and International Organizations (2000 – 2003), Hong Kong as Consul (1998 – 2000), and the USA as Second Secretary (1987 – 1990). Within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yamagami has previously served as  Director-General, Intelligence and Analysis Service (2017 – 2018), and Ambassador for Policy Planning and International Security Policy (Deputy Director-General, Foreign Policy Bureau) (2014 – 2015). Outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yamagami was Director-General (Acting) at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (2015 – 2017). He was also seconded to the National Police Agency as Director of the Police Administration, Ibaraki Prefectural Police (2007-2009). Ambassador Yamagami has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Tokyo (1984) and studied at the Graduate School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University (1985-87).

Earlier, he was Deputy High Commissioner in Pakistan (2007 – 09) and in Nairobi (2005 – 07) where he was also Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations Environment Programme and UN-Habitat. Prior to this, he served in various capacities at the Indian Missions in Hong Kong, China, Mongolia and United Kingdom.

At the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, Ambassador Vohra was Additional Secretary (Administration; Consular, Passport, Visas; and Counter-Terrorism) during 2018 – 19, Joint Secretary (Development Partnership Administration-I) during 2015 – 16, and Deputy Secretary and Director (Disarmament & International Security Affairs) during 2000-02. From 2009 – 11, he was Joint Secretary & Officer on Special Duty in the Project Office to set up the South Asian University in New Delhi.

Ambassador Vohra was born in Amritsar on 28 December 2963. He has a BA in Economics and a Post-Graduate Diploma in International Trade from Panjab University, Chandigarh. He was Chevening Scholar at Oxford University in 1999 – 2000 where he obtained a Certificate in Diplomatic Studies.