Mari Pangestu Keynote Speaker

Former World Bank Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships (2020-2023)
Former Minister of Trade Indonesia (2004-2011) and Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (2011-2014)
Expert in international trade, investment and development in multilateral, regional and national settings

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Mari Pangestu's Biography

Mari Pangestu is a highly regarded Indonesian economist and former World Bank Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships.

With over 30 years of experience in academia, second track processes and international organisations, Mari has also held various high-level government positions. She served as Indonesia’s Minster of Trade from 2004 to 2011 and as Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy from 2011 to 2014.

At the time, Mari Pangestu was the first female Indonesian of Chinese descent to hold a cabinet position in Indonesia. In 2012, Mari was nominated for the position of Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, but the role eventually fell to Roberto Azevêdo.

Pangestu was Senior Fellow at the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs, as well as Professor of International Economics at the University of Indonesia, adjunct professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and Crawford School of Public Policy at Australian National University.

She has served on several boards including, the Bureau of Economic Research (IBER), Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Jakarta, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Leadership Council of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Board of Trustees of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington D.C.

Mari Pangestu is a leading expert on a range of global issues such as sustainable development, international trade and policy making. She was advisor to the Global Commission on the Geopolitics of Energy Transformation of International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Abu Dhabi and a commissioner for the Low Carbon Development Initiative of Indonesia.

Widely featured in the media, Mari has also been invited as an esteemed speaker and panellist at various international conferences, forums, and town halls. She has spoken at the COP26, COP27, IUCN World Conservation Congress, World Investment Forum, World Economic Forum among many others.

In recognition of her achievements as an economist and policy maker in Asia, Mari Pangestu was awarded an honorary doctorate by her alma mater, the Australian National University.