New Zealand is hosting the 2021 year of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum comprising hundreds of meetings culminating with the APEC Leaders Forum chaired by NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. This year due to Covid-19 restrictions APEC will not be held in Auckland but will be held virtually. Professor Siah Hwee Ang will provide a brief introduction of APEC, the history and some of the achievements since APEC was established on Canberra in 1989. Ms Andrea Smith will then discuss New Zealand's virtual hosting of APEC 2021, covering key themes and objectives, meeting clusters and the main leaders summit in November. The presentation will be followed by Q&A session with the audience.

Please note, Rutherford House Lecture Theatre 2 has wheelchair access.

This event is also being run live via Zoom.

Meeting URL: https://zoom.us/join

Zoom Meeting ID: 948 9761 2461

Ms Andrea Smith

Andrea Smith commenced the role of Deputy Secretary of APEC New Zealand in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) in May 2017. Prior to taking up this position, Andrea was Deputy Secretary for the Ministry’s Americas and Asia Group for 5 years.Andrea started at MFAT in 1991 and has held a range of positions on and offshore. During this time she has been Director of Pacific Division (2011-12) Ambassador to Turkey, Israel and Jordan and as Representative to the Palestinian Authority (2009-11). She was seconded to DPMC as a Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister (2006-08). Andrea was Head of the Trade and Economic Section at NZ’s embassy in Washington (2004-05). Prior to this, she was Deputy Head of Mission in Jakarta (2001-2003).

Follow Andrea on Twitter @andreamfat

Professor Siah Hwee Ang

Siah Hwee Ang is Professor of International Business and Strategy and the Chair in Business in Asia at Victoria University of Wellington. He is also the Director of the NZ’s Southeast Asia Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence. In these roles, Siah works closely with various stakeholders and companies on their strategies in Asia and Asia’s engagement in New Zealand.

Siah’s research centres around the connection between international business and international trade. His works have been published in international top-tier journals and have won several research awards. He is also Senior Editor at the Journal of World Business, a leading international business journal. Siah completed his PhD in Management at the National University of Singapore and is a visiting professor to a number of Asian universities.