The Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) held a seminar on Tuesday, 13 September 2016 in its office in Jakarta for the inauguration of Tan Sri Datuk Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria as the new Senior Policy Fellow in charge of ERIA's Policy Design Department.

Her work will link ERIA's research with the needs of policy-makers in the region, enabling them to make more informed governance decisions. Dr Rebecca has extensive knowledge of ERIA's work, having served on the Governing Board since 2015.

'Dr Rebecca is one of the most knowledgeable people in terms of trade for this region,' said Professor Hidetoshi Nishimura, the President of ERIA, in the opening remarks of Dr Rebecca's inaugural seminar.

Dr Rebecca delivered her presentation, RCEP: Challenging ASEAN Centrality, to a distinguished audience of several Ambassadors to ASEAN, ASEAN Secretariat officials, embassy officials, and researchers from other think tanks. Her presentation highlighted her wealth of experience during her 30 years of service in Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade, which ended in July 2016 when she retired as the Secretary General of the Ministry. As the Secretary General, she provided oversight for the formulation and implementation of Malaysia's international trade policies and positions where she provided oversight for the formulation and implementation of Malaysia's international trade policies and positions. This involved Malaysia's participation in bilateral, regional (ASEAN, APEC, OIC) and multilateral fora (World Trade Organization), as well as bilateral and regional trade negotiations. On the regional front, she played a key role in ASEAN economic Integration and chaired the ASEAN Senior Economic Officials Meeting as well as the ASEAN High Level Task Force for Economic Integration.

The seminar was held at ERIA's office in Senayan, Central Jakarta with the theme ASEAN Economic Integration and the Role of ERIA. Please click here to read more about Dr Rebecca and click here to download a copy of her presentation.