Panel dialogue: Making industrial policy work for trade and development

H.E. Mrs. Karien van Gennip is a Dutch businesswoman and politician who is currently serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs and Employment in the Government of the Netherlands.

She previously held the following positions: Minister of Social Affairs and Employment in the fourth Rutte government (2022-2023); Chair of the board of directors of health insurance cooperative Coöperatie VGZ, Arnhem (2020-2022); Various executive roles at ING Group, including CEO ING Bank France, Paris (2008-2020); Member of the House of Representatives for the CDA (2006-2008); State Secretary for Economic Affairs in the second and third Balkenende governments (2003-2007); Project leader for the internal reorganisation of the newly established Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets, Amsterdam (2002-2003); McKinsey & Company, Amsterdam and San Francisco (1994-2002).

H.E. Mr. Souleymane Diarrassouba is the Minister of Trade and Industry of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire.  

Before joining the Government in January 2017, Souleymane Diarrassouba was the Managing Director of the Atlantic Business International Group, the financial, control and development holding company of the Atlantic Bank and Insurance entities in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

His expertise in the banking sector earned him the positions of President of the Federations of Banks of the West African Monetary and Economic Union, President of the Professional Association of Banks and Financial Establishment of Côte d'Ivoire, and Vice-President of the Ivorian Employers' Association. 

He previously served as Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Trade, Crafts and Small and Medium-Enterprise Promotion, and Minister of Industry and Mining.

H.E. Dr. Younes Sekkouri has been the Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment, and Skills in the Kingdom of Morocco since October 2021.

He holds a Ph.D. in Strategy from ISCAE (Institut Supérieur de Commerce et d’Administration des Entreprises) and two Executive MBAs from Ecole des Ponts Business School and the Fox School of Business at Temple University. He is a state engineer in telecommunications and graduated from the Institut National des Postes et Télécommunications (INPT). He is a laureate of the ASPEN Institute in Paris in leadership.

Prior to his appointment, Dr. Sekkouri was Dean of the Africa Region of the Ecole des Ponts Business School. He is also an expert in the UN Economic Commission for Africa in the areas of economic and industrial policies and structural change.

Dr. Sekkouri has developed significant research, teaching, and consulting experience in the United States, Europe, and Africa in the areas of corporate strategy, leadership, innovation, and public policy design.

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.

John W.H. Denton AO is the Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). He is a global business leader, international advisor on policy and a legal expert on international trade and investment.

He serves as Board member of the UN Global Compact, Founding Member of the Business 20 (B20), and Co-Chair of Italy B20 working group on Finance and Infrastructure. He is Co-Founder of the Australia-China CEO Roundtable and Patron of UNHCR in Australia.

Board member of the IFM Global Investors - a global institutional investment manager, John is also Chair of the Asia Pacific advisory board of Veracity, a global advisory group based in New York, and Chair of the Moeller Institute advisory board at the University of Cambridge.

He also serves on the Boards of the UNDP (New York) impact investing steering group, and of UNICEF's global education initiative: GenU. He joined the Advisory Board of the African Green Infrastructure Investment Bank (AfGIIB) and the G7 Working Group on Impact Investment.

Peter Ogbu Okwoche is an award-winning broadcaster and journalist.  He has been in the broadcasting industry for over 30 years, 19 of them with the BBC, where he was Senior Presenter for BBC World News television and BBC World Service Radio until 31 July 2023.

He was the main anchor for BBC Focus on Africa, the channels’ flagship African affairs programme broadcast around the globe. He also worked on several of the BBC’s flagship radio programmes like the World Today, Focus on Africa, Network Africa, and Fast Track, amongst others.

He is Nigerian but has spent an extensive amount of time travelling. He has been regularly deployed across Africa to cover major events, including major elections and sporting tournaments.  He has interviewed many of the continent’s Presidents and Heads of States including those of Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Malawi.

He has spoken to leaders of industry, politicians and other news makers across the world and is highly respected internationally in the profession he recently led the BBC’s biggest expansion across West Africa in 60 years, successfully launching three new services: BBC Pidgin, BBC Yoruba and BBC Igbo.