David Vivas Eugui is Chief (a.i) of the Trade, Environment and Sustainable Development Branch at UNCTAD.

Previously, he was a Senior Economic Affairs Officer in UNCTAD’s Trade Negotiations and Commercial Diplomacy Branch, Deputy Programmes Director at the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), Senior Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL),  Attaché for Legal Affairs at the Mission of Venezuela to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Staff Attorney at the Venezuelan Institute of Foreign Trade. David is an international expert with more than 20 years of experience on legal and economic issues.

He has worked as an advisor and consultant for various institutions, international and national organizations and has lectured on intellectual property, trade, oceans economy and environmental law at the University of Strasbourg (CEIPI), Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina), Universidad Javeriana (Colombia), Maastricht University (the Netherlands), WIPO Distant Learning Academy, and University of Business and International Studies (Switzerland).

He holds a JD from the Universidad Catolica Andres Bello, an LLM from Georgetown University and a Master in Transnational Business from the Universidad Externado de Colombia.

Johanna Silvander is an international lawyer and social scientist working in the Productive Capacities and Sustainable Development Branch of the Africa, LDCs and Special Programmes Division of UNCTAD.  She manages major productive capacities development programmes and UN Joint Programmes, coordinates and co-authors research and provides policy advice focusing on legal, sectoral and sustainability issues linked to productive capacities.

Prior to UNCTAD, Ms Silvander served for 10 years at the International Labour Organization (ILO) both in the field in Africa and in the ILO headquarters in Geneva. She started her career in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, where she served for five years in the area of trade policy, trade negotiations and Aid for Trade, as well as human rights.

Ms Silvander holds a Master of Social Sciences Degree with a specialization in International Law (Åbo Akademi University, Finland), as well as a Bachelor of Laws (Åbo Akademi) and a Master of Laws Degree (Helsinki University, Finland).

Former Director of the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, Dr Lahsen Ababouch works currently as expert on fisheries and aquaculture value chains for various UN agencies, academia, industry and NGOs.

Before joining FAO in 2000, he was Professor at the King Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine, in Rabat, Morocco, where he held teaching, research and advisory positions for industry outreach, trade agreements and agribusiness.  He has authored/co-authored over 130 papers, books and book chapters, and presented over 250 communications.

He was awarded the King Baudouin Award for Excellence in Research by the International Foundation for Science (Sweden, 1996); the Distinguished Leadership Award for Internationals by the University of Minnesota (USA, 2004), and the Special recognition Award of the International Association of Seafood Professionals (2009) . He was nominated a University of Minnesota Hunger Fighter, on the occasion of the 50th Nobel Peace Prize Anniversary of Dr. Norman Borlaug (2021).

Ms. Jessy Carmelle Petit-Frère is a professor, researcher and speaker at Université Publique du Sud au Cayes. She is also the Founder and Principal (Chief Executive Officer) of Executive Management Consultancy Inc. in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti.

Previously, she worked for the World Bank in the capacity of Project Management in the education sector. She is a private sector development specialist at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). She implemented a youth entrepreneurship program/small business development project in Comoros. In Haiti, she was Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry and worked to promote and foster the development of domestic commerce, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and industries.

As Minister of Haitians Living Abroad, she developed and implemented policies, programs, and services to facilitate the integration and involvement of Haitians living abroad. She has gained many professional experiences with leading international organizations. She conducted business missions to 43 countries in Europe, Latin America, Africa, Oceania, and Asia to negotiate projects and set up contractual agreements. She was a panelist at UNCTAD on Trade Capacity Building.

Mr Wekesa is an Environment and Natural Resource Governance Expert currently working for the Secretariat of the Organisation of African Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) based in Brussels, Belgium.

He previously served in various capacities in Kenya’s State authorities responsible for the sustainable management and conservation of marine resources. He holds a master’s degree in aquatic ecology from the University of Bremen, Germany.

Yuvan A. Beejadhur is Senior Advisor to the Director-General of the WTO, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. He brings leadership thought and experience in the areas of sustainable development, climate change, the ocean economy and has extensive country dialogue and programmatic work experience. He has been a Visiting Professor of Blue Diplomacy at the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations. He serves as Sherpa to Dr. Ngozi on the Global Commission on the Economics of Water (GCEW).

Mr. Beejadhur has also worked at the World Bank Group as a Team Leader – Natural Resources Management Specialist, as Senior Adviser to two UN Special Envoys on Climate Change, and in various positions in the academia and the UN system.

Mr. Beejadhur obtained a BA in International Affairs and Minors in International Economics from the American University of Paris, and Master's in International Political Economy (EU Policies) from the Sorbonne-Nouvelle (Paris 3) University in Paris, France. He was also a doctoral student (PhD, 2003-2007). He also holds an Executive Education in Negotiations from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He is a dual national of Mauritius and Switzerland.