Focus on Southeast Asia trade: two-day event

Anyone interested in how New Zealand businesses can capitalise on burgeoning Southeast Asian markets is welcome at a two-day event hosted by the University of Auckland.

Registrations are still open for the Auckland Trade and Economic Policy School (ATEPS) on 21 and 22 November, which will feature a range of international speakers; notably Anoush der Boghossian, who has been leading World Trade Organisation (WTO) work on trade and gender since 2016.

As the head of the WTO’s Trade and Gender Office,  she is a recognised researcher and trainer on gender-responsive trade policy and a co-author of the WTO/World Bank report on women and trade.

Anoush der Boghossian's research looks at the links between trade policy, trade rules and agreements,  aid for trade and women’s economic empowerment.

She is also the founder and chair of the WTO Gender Research Hub, an international  network that fosters research and experts’ partnerships on gender equality in trade.

Director of the Public Policy Institute Professor Jennifer Curtin, who will chair the final session on day two, is delighted to be welcoming a leading trade and gender expert, an area that aligns with her own research interests.

“Our GRAB-NZ project demonstrates the value of applying a gender lens across all policy domains, including trade and export policy," she says.

"Producing sustainable and shared trade benefits means we need to be asking ‘who’ questions: during the negotiation, the activation and the implementation of trade agreements.”

She says this is not an ideological standpoint, rather, informed by evidence.

“It’s a process that requires granular data, and diverse community voices at all the decision points, and a process that the WTO, along with the OECD, APEC and other international organisations recognise as invaluable for the future of international trade”.

Curtin says that, given Southeast Asia is home to nine percent of the world’s population and is collectively the world’s fifth-largest economy, the region offers strong potential as New Zealand looks to diversify its trade and double the value of its exports over the next decade.

“Our conference presents a valuable opportunity to hear from leading experts, discuss the latest international trade and geopolitical developments, and the emerging challenges and opportunities for New Zealand’s SME’s and entrepreneurs to advance green transitions, connectivity and tech, and to support sustainable food security and Māori business.”

Speakers at Spotlight on Southeast Asia. Pathways to Prosperity: Building Resilient Trade Partnerships for a New Era  will include: Hon Todd McClay (Minister for Trade), Hon Nicola Grigg (Minister of State for Trade), Professor Shiro Armstrong (trade economist, Australian National University), Vangelis Vitalis (Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade), Reshaad Durgahee (British Consul General in Auckland) and Deborah Elms (Hinrich Foundation).

And among those from Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland will be international business expert Associate Professor Natasha Hamilton-Hart (Business School) and China specialist, Associate Professor Stephen Noakes (director, China Studies Centre, Faculty of Arts).

Full programme and speaker profiles