Albert F. Park is Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Director General of its Economic Research and Development Impact Department. He is chief spokesperson on economic and development trends and leads the production of ADB’s flagship knowledge products and support for regional cooperation fora. He has more than 2 decades of experience as a development economist and is a well-known expert on the economy of the People’s Republic of China. He has worked on a broad range of development issues including poverty and inequality, intergenerational mobility, microfinance, migration and labor markets, the future of work, and foreign investment.

He is Chair Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for Economic Policy at HKUST (on leave). He served as a founding director of HKUST’s Institute for Emerging Market Studies and professor at the University of Oxford. A national of the United States, he received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University and his doctorate in applied economics from Stanford University.

Petia Topalova is the Chief of the Macroeconomic Development Division of the Research Department at the IMF. Prior to that, she was Mission Chief for the Slovak Republic, deputy chief in the Emerging Economies Unit of the European Department and the World Economic Studies division in the Research department, economist in the European, and Asia and Pacific Department of the IMF, and Adjunct Lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research is in the areas of economic development and international trade.

Nasrin Sultana holds the position of Deputy Secretary in the Trade Support Measures Wing of Bangladesh’s Ministry of Commerce. This division is dedicated to preparing Bangladesh for a sustainable transition from its status as a least developed country (LDC), a milestone set to be achieved in 2026. In her role, Ms. Sultana is actively involved in implementing several strategic plans. These include the national plan, the Doha Program of Action, the Smooth Transition Strategy, and the Sustainable Development Goals and the 9th Five-Year-Plan that are related to Bangladesh’s commerce ministry.

Jong Woo Kang is Director of Regional Cooperation and Integration Division at the Economic Research and Development Impact Department (ERDI) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). As director, he plays a role as an interface between ADB’s internal and external stakeholders on regional cooperation and integration. He is a seasoned economist with extensive knowledge and experiences on policy and strategic issues. He was Principal Economist at ERDI, Senior Advisor to the Managing Director General of ADB, and Senior Economist at the Strategy, Policy, and Partnerships Department at ADB. He leads the annual publication of Asian Economic Integration Report. Areas of his research interest include regional integration, inclusive growth, macroeconomic policies, international trade and finance, and aid effectiveness. He published articles in economics journals such as Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Applied Economics, and Journal of World Trade. Before joining ADB, he was director at the Ministry of Finance and Economy of the Republic of Korea until 2006. He had got his bachelor’s degree in economics and master’s in public administration from Seoul National University, and PhD in economics from University of Washington.

Cyn-Young Park is Director of the Regional Cooperation and Integration (RCI) and Trade in Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In her current capacity, she is responsible for managing ADB operations and knowledge on RCI and trade. She leads a team of experts to develop strategies and approaches to support RCI and to provide guidance in design and implementation of ADB RCI and trade projects. During her progressive career within ADB, she has been a main author and contributor to ADB’s major publications including Asian Development Outlook (ADB’s flagship publication), Asian Economic Integration Report, Asia Capital Markets Monitor, Asia Economic Monitor, Asia Bond Monitor, and ADB Country Diagnostic Study Series. She has also participated in various global and regional forums including the G20 Development Working Group, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), ASEAN+3, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). She has written and lectured extensively about the Asian economy and financial markets. Her work has been published in peer reviewed academic journals including the Journal of Banking and Finance, the Journal of Financial Stability, the Journal of Futures Markets, the Review of Income and Wealth, and the World Economy.

Prior to joining the ADB, she served as Economist (1999-2002) at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), where she contributed to the OECD Economic Outlook. She received her Ph.D. in Economics from Columbia University. She holds a bachelor degree in International Economics from Seoul National University.

Rolando Avendano is an Economist at the Economic Research and Cooperation Department of the Asian Development Bank. His research focuses on financial and international economics, with an emphasis on regional integration, competitiveness and foreign direct investment.

Prior to joining ADB, he worked for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, France. He was partnership coordinator of PARIS21 (OECD Statistics and Data Directorate), economist with the Director’s Office and the Americas Desk (OECD Development Centre), and research associate with the OECD Trade Directorate and Economics Department. Previously, he was a lecturer at the Engineering Faculty of University of Los Andes (Colombia), and research associate at University College London (UK).

A French and Colombian national, he holds a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering from University of Los Andes and a Master and PhD in Economics from the Paris School of Economics (PSE).

Jong Woo Kang is Director of Regional Cooperation and Integration Division at the Economic Research and Development Impact Department (ERDI) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). As director, he plays a role as an interface between ADB’s internal and external stakeholders on regional cooperation and integration. He is a seasoned economist with extensive knowledge and experiences on policy and strategic issues. He was Principal Economist at ERDI, Senior Advisor to the Managing Director General of ADB, and Senior Economist at the Strategy, Policy, and Partnerships Department at ADB. He leads the annual publication of Asian Economic Integration Report. Areas of his research interest include regional integration, inclusive growth, macroeconomic policies, international trade and finance, and aid effectiveness. He published articles in economics journals such as Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Applied Economics, and Journal of World Trade. Before joining ADB, he was director at the Ministry of Finance and Economy of the Republic of Korea until 2006. He had got his bachelor’s degree in economics and master’s in public administration from Seoul National University, and PhD in economics from University of Washington.