2023 UNCITRAL South Asia Conference Day 1

2023 UNCITRAL South Asia Conference14-16 September 2023

Day 1

09:00 – 10:15 AM - Session 1 (Digital Economy)
Moderator: Mr. Siddharth Malik; Director, Economic Diplomacy, MEA
Panel discussion (60 min)
o Mr. Luca Castellani; Legal Officer, UNCITRAL
o Mr. Abhishek Singh; Joint Secretary, Economic Diplomacy, MEA
o Dr. Chaichana Mitrpant; Executive Director, Electronic Transactions Development
Agency (ETDA), Thailand
o Ms. Shaila Yasmin; Joint Secretary (FTA-2), Ministry of Commerce, Bangladesh
o Ms. Laura Ho; Director, National Roadmap and Cross Border Rules, Digital Trade,
Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)

10:15 – 11:30 AM – Session 2 (MSMEs and Access to Credit)
Moderator: Dr. James J Nedumpara; Head, Centre for Trade and Investment Law (CTIL)
Keynote
o Mr. P. Kumaran; Additional Secretary, Economic Relations, MEA
Panel discussion (50 min)
o Mr. Jae Sung Lee; Senior Legal Officer, UNCITRAL
o Ms. Mercy Epao; Joint Secretary, Ministry of MSME
o Ms. Hemalata Mahalingam; Advisor to the Regional Industry Director, Financial
Institutions Group (FIG) South Asia
o Mr. Jinchang Lai; Principal Operations Officer, Financial Institutions Group Asia
Pacific, International Finance Cooperation (IFC), World Bank Group

12:00 PM – 01:15 PM – Session 3 (ADR in the Context of Addressing Financial Difficulties
and the Role of Courts)
Chair: Hon’ble Mr. Justice AK Sikri; Judge, Singapore International Commercial Court
Panel discussion (60 min)
o Ms. Samira Musayeva; Senior Legal Officer, UNCITRAL
o Hon’ble Ms. Justice Indu Malhotra; Former Judge, Supreme Court of India, Member of
Court – Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)
o Hon’ble Mr. Justice Anselmo Reyes; Judge, Singapore International Commercial Court
o Ms. Meg Kinnear; Secretary General, International Centre for Settlement of Investment
Disputes (ICSID)

02:15 PM – 03:30 PM – Session 4 (High-level Roundtable: Regional Perspectives on
UNCITRAL)
Moderator: Dr. Prabhash Ranjan; Associate Professor, South Asian University
Roundtable discussion (60 min)
o Ms. Anna Joubin-Bret; Secretary of UNCITRAL
o Mr. N Venkataraman; Additional Solicitor General of India
o Ms. Madhavi Divan; Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
o Mr. Promod Nair; Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India, UNCITRAL-CLOUT
National Correspondent, Member UNCCI
o Dr. Kamalinne Pinitpuvadol; Secretary General, Asian–African Legal Consultative
Organization (AALCO)

04:00 PM – 05:15 PM - Session 5 (Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reforms)
Chair: Hon’ble Mr. Justice KV Vishwanathan; Judge, Supreme Court of India
Panel discussion (60 min)
o Mr. Jae Sung Lee; Senior Legal Officer, UNCITRAL
o Mr. George Pothan Poothicote; Advocate, Supreme Court of India, Legal Consultant MEA, Member UNCITRAL-CLOUT Steering Committee, Coordinator of UNCCI
o Mr. Salim Moollan KC; Brick Court Chambers, Former Chair of UNCITRAL
o Mr. Shane Spelliscy; Director General & Senior General Counsel, Trade Law Bureau,
Department of Justice, Global Affairs Canada, Chair of UNCITRAL Working Group-III

Find more information on the conference webpage: https://uncitral.un.org/en/2023UNCITR...