Who We Are
The Governing Council
The Governing Council (GC) is the highest decision-making body of ASEAN-IPR, consisting a representative from each ASEAN Member State (AMS), along with the Secretary-General of ASEAN and the Executive Director (who serve as Ex-Officio Members of the Council). The Council’s work includes formulation of guidelines and procedures for activities, funding and budget of the institute.
H.E. Latifah Zaini has been appointed as the Permanent Representative of Brunei Darussalam to ASEAN since 28 February 2023. H.E. Latifah also serves as the Representative of Brunei Darussalam to the Governing Council of the ASEAN-IPR.
A career diplomat, H.E. Latifah joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2006. Before her Ambassadorial appointment, she was the Deputy-Director General of the ASEAN-Brunei Darussalam National Secretariat from July 2019. Her other assignments at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs include Minister Counsellor at the Department of Europe and Americas in 2015 – 2019 and Assistant Director at the Middle East Division in 2012 – 2014. She was posted as the Second Secretary at the Embassy of Brunei Darussalam in Arab Republic of Egypt in 2019 – 2012.
H.E. Latifah was awarded with the Excellent Civil Service Employee Award in 2014 and Pingat Indah Kerja Bakti in 2017.
H.E. Latifah graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Arabic Linguistics from Al-Azhar University, Arab Republic of Egypt. Aside from Malay language, she also speaks English and Arabic. She is married with two children.
Ambassador Heng Sarith started his career as a Diplomat since 2006. He served as Second Secretary of the Royal Embassy of Cambodia to the Republic of Indonesia and Permanent Mission of Cambodia to ASEAN from 2012-2015. Prior to his appointment as Permanent Representative of Cambodia, He had worked as the Deputy Director-General of the General Department of ASEAN, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation from 2018-2022.
He had also worked as a Research Fellow at Cambodia Institute for Strategic Studies (CISS) and Cambodian Institute for Peace and Cooperation (CICP) from 2016-2017. He got his Master Degree on Public Policy in September 2010 from National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), Tokyo, Japan.
He was awarded with Royal Order of Monisaraphon Chavalier in 2019.
He is married with three children.
Special Advisor to the Foreign Minister on Regional Diplomacy
H.E. Ngurah Swajaya is the current Representative of Indonesia to the Governing Council of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR). He currently also sits as Special Advisor to the Minister of Regional Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. A career diplomat with more than 30 years of experience. Prior to that, he served as Director General for American and European Affairs – Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2020-2022), Ambassador of the Republic to the Republic of Singapore (2016-2022), Head of Economic Diplomacy Task Force – Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2013-2015), Ambassador/Permanent Representative of the Republic of Indonesia to ASEAN (2010-2013), Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Kingdom of Cambodia (2009-2010), Director for ASEAN Political and Security Cooperation – Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2006 2008), and Director for Development, Economic and Environmental Affairs (2004-2006). H.E. Ngurah Swajaya is a Master of Arts, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tuft University, (Boston, USA) and a Law Degree, from Udayana University (Bali, Indonesia).
H.E. Bovonethat DOUANGCHAK has been appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of the Lao PDR to ASEAN since August 2021. He also serves as the Representative of the Lao PDR to the Governing Council of the ASEAN-IPR.
Ambassador Bovonethat DOUANGCHAK began his career as official of the ASEAN Economic Cooperation Department of Ministry of Commerce from 1998 to 1999; Senior Official from 1999 to 2006 and Deputy Director from 2006-2007 of the Economic Affairs Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA); Second Secretary at the Permanent Mission of the Lao PDR to the United Nations in New York from 2007 to 2011; Director of the ASEM Division from 2011-2013 and Director of International Economic Division from 2013-2014, Department of Economic Affairs; Counselor from 2015-2016, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim from July 2016 to January 2017 and Deputy Permanent Representative from 2017 to 2018 at the Permanent Mission of the Lao PDR to the United Nations (UN) Office and other International Organisations in Geneva. Prior to his appointment as Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Lao PDR to ASEAN, he served as Deputy Director-General of ASEAN Department from February 2019 to July 2021.
Ambassador Bovonethat graduated with a Master of Public Policy, Major of Economics and Public Policy at KDI School of Public Policy and Management in Seoul, Republic of Korea in 2002; Bachelor of Business Administration, Major of International Business Management with 1st Class Honours at University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok in 1997; and Diploma of Civil Engineer at the School of Communication and Transportation, Road and Bridge Engineering in Vientiane, Lao PDR.
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H.E. Dato’ Nur Izzah Wong Mee Choo is the Malaysian Representative to the ASEAN-IPR Governing Council. She is the Permanent Representative of Malaysia to ASEAN.
Previously, she has served as Undersecretary (Inspectorate Division) for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and held position of High Commissioner of Malaysia to New Zealand from January 2018 to February 2023.
Ambassador Mee Choo attained a Diploma in Public Administration from the National Institute of Public Administration, Kuala Lumpur. Subsequently, she acquired a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts from Universiti Sains Malaysia. In 2006, she completed her Master’s Degree in Social Sciences, specializing in Strategy and Diplomacy, from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. She received her Ph.D. in International Relations from Tsinghua University in Beijing, People’s Republic of China.
Ambassador Mee Choo has been honored with – among others – Ahli Mahkota Kedah (AMK) Award in 2015, Ahli Mangku Negara (AMN) Award in 2016, and most recently, the Darjah Dato’ Setia Diraja Kedah (D.S.D.K.) in 2023.
H.E. U Aung Myo Myint was born on 26 July 1964 in Zalun Township of Ayeyawady Region. He currently sits as the Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar to ASEAN. Prior, he was appointed as the Director-General to the Strategic and Training Department of Myanmar in September 2019. He attained his Bachelor of Arts in 1984 from Yangon University majoring in English before pursuing a Master Degree in Southeast Asia Studies in Tsubuka University, Japan in 2005.
H.E. U Aung Myo Myint began his political career in 1986 as an Attach in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar, undertaking many diplomatic posts including in New Delhi (1991-1993) as Third Secretary; Kathmandu (1999-2003) as Second and later first Secretary; Beijing (2005-2008) as First Secretary and Counsellor, and Brussels (2011-2014) as Counsellor/Minister Counsellor. Following his tenure as Assistant Director of Political Department from 2003 to 2005, he has been appointed, among others, as Deputy Director of ASEAN Affairs Department (2008-2011), Director of ASEAN Affairs Department (2014-2016), Deputy Director-General of ASEAN Affairs Department, and Deputy Permanent Representative/Minister of the Permanent Mission of Myanmar to the UN in Geneva (2018-2019).
His extensive experience has granted him with three awards celebrating his contribution to civil service, namely the Law and Order Award (1994), the Civil Service Award (2006), and the Excellent Civil Service Award (2019).
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Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Philippines to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Ambassador Quintana is a career diplomat. She served in the Philippine diplomatic missions in Beijing (China), Washington, DC (USA), Dublin (Ireland), Muscat (Oman), and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. In her concurrent capacity as Ambassador to the UAE, Ambassador Quintana served as Permanent Representative to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) headquartered in Abu Dhabi.
Prior to her appointment as Ambassador to the UAE, she was Assistant Secretary in charge of the Office of the Middle East and Africa Affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Ambassador Quintana has a B.A. Political Science and Master in International Relations degrees from the University of the Philippines. She also has a Master of International Public Policy degree from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC. She took Diplomatic Studies in Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Gerard Ho Wei Hong has been Singapore’s Permanent Representative to ASEAN in Jakarta since August 2023.
Mr. Ho was Singapore’s Ambassador to the Republic of Philippines from March 2019 to June 2023. Prior to this, Mr. Ho was Director-General of the ASEAN Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs from January 2015 to February 2019.
Since joining the Singapore Foreign Service in 1997, Mr. Ho has served in various capacities on issues related to International Organisations and Southeast Asia. Mr. Ho served as First Secretary (Political) in the Singapore Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York from June 2000 to July 2003, First Secretary (Political) in the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur from January 2004 to July 2007 and Deputy Chief of Mission in the Singapore Embassy in Jakarta from February 2010 to December 2014.
Mr. Ho graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in History from the National University of Singapore in 1997. He subsequently obtained a Master of
Arts in Political Science from Columbia University, United States of America, in 2009.
Mr. Ho was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2019 and the Long Service Medal in 2020. He was also awarded the Order of Sikatuna with the rank of Datu (Grand Cross) by the Government of the Philippines in 2023.
Urawadee Sriphiromya was appointed Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Thailand to ASEAN on 25 May 2021. Ambassador Sriphiromya previously served as Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Royal Thai Embassy in Vientiane, Lao PDR from July 2019 – May 2021. During her term in Laos, she also served as Chargé d’Affaires a.i. from October 2020- February 2021. Prior to that, she served as Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Royal Thai Embassy in Manila, the Philippines from August 2017- June 2019. During her term in Manila, she was Chargé d’Affaires a.i. from April 2018- May 2019.
Among her earlier assignments, Ambassador Sriphiromya served as Director of the Social and Cultural Division, Department of ASEAN Affairs; Director of Development Affairs Division, Department of International Organizations; and Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Thailand to the UN in New York.
Ambassador Sriphiromya earned a B.A. (Political Science) from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok and Master of International Studies from the University of Sydney, Australia.
Before her appointment as the Representative of Thailand to the Governing Council of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR), Ambassador Sriphiromya served as the Representative of Thailand to the Advisor Board from August 2021-June 2023.
Ambassador Nguyen Hai Bang is currently the Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to ASEAN. He currently also sits as the Representative of Viet Nam to the Governing Council of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR).
Previously, he was Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Social Republic of Viet Nam to the Kingdom of Thailand (2017-2020). Prior to being appointed as Ambassador, Mr. Nguyen Hai Bang was Director-General of Department of Africa and the Middle East (2013-2017) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Viet Nam, where he also served as Deputy Director-General prior (2011-2013). Moreover, he has served as Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Viet Nam in Denmark (2007-2011); as Desk Officer, and then as Deputy Director-General, Europe Department, MOFA Viet Nam (2002-2007); Second Secretary, Embassy of Viet Nam in London, UK (1999-2002); Desk Officer, Europe Department, MOFA Viet Nam (1991-1999); and, Desk Officer, Press & Information Department, MOFA Viet Nam (1988-1991).
Ambassador Nguyen Hai Bang was born on 8 February 1963. He graduated from the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam in 1985 and had his post-graduate Study in the Former Soviet Union. He also holds a Master of Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government (1996-1997), Harvard University. Aside from his mother tongue, he speaks English, Japanese and Russian. He is married with 3 children.
Dr. Kao Kim Hourn serves for the second term as the Minister Delegate attached to the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia. His professional career has focused on strengthening Cambodia’s international relations particularly in ASEAN, driving policy advocacy, and promoting research, education and development.
Dr. Kao Kim Hourn survived the Khmer Rouge genocide, and at the age of 15 he went to the United States, where he eventually received a Doctoral degree in Political Science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, two Master’s degrees from Ohio University, and a Bachelor’s degree from Baylor University. He returned to Cambodia in January 1993 to run a think-tank dedicated to ASEAN and international affairs and later joined the Royal Government of Cambodia, where he has served in a variety of capacities, including a post as Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Dr. Kao Kim Hourn has authored dozens of books and articles about Cambodia and ASEAN. With the mission of providing education to especially disadvantaged Cambodian youths, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn established The University of Cambodia in 2003, which now boasts almost 20,000 alumni, and continues to serve as the long-standing President today.
Dr. Kao Kim Hourn has earned several honors, particularly the Royal Order of Cambodia, the Royal Order of Sowathara, and The Grand Order of National Merit, for his services to Cambodia. He was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service from Ohio University in 2007 and an Honorary Doctorate in Literature from the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in India in 2014.
Dr. Kao Kim Hourn is a Member of the Supreme National Economic Council, a Senior Fellow at the Jeffrey Cheah Institute on Southeast Asia, and a Member of the Global Council of The Asia Society. He serves as a Member of the Board of Directors for the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace as well as for the Worldwide Support for Development. He also has acted as a Member of the Standing Committee of the Cambodian Red Cross. He is married with two adult children who live in Phnom Penh.
The Advisory Board
The Advisory Board (AB) is responsible to advise the GC on the research priorities of the Institute. The AB also comprises of a representative from each ASEAN Member State, consisting of eminent persons in the field of peace and reconciliation, with the Executive Director of ASEAN-IPR also serving as an Ex-Officio Member.
Ms. Jaini was appointed as Brunei Darussalam’s Representative to the ASEAN Institute of Peace and Reconciliation Advisory Board in September 2022. Her other responsibilities include the Department of Policy Planning at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brunei Darussalam, as well as the Brunei Darussalam Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (BDIPSS), a think tank arm of the Foreign Ministry.
She is a career diplomat, having joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in March 2004. Her first assignment was to the Politics I Department (now Department of East Asia), mainly handling the Northeast Asia portfolio. In her 18 years of service at the Ministry, she has completed two overseas assignments, namely as Second Secretary at the Embassy of Brunei Darussalam to the People’s Republic of China in Beijing (2006–2010) and Deputy Permanent Representative at the Permanent Mission of Brunei Darussalam to the United Nations in New York (2015–2020).
Ms. Jaini earned her Masters degree in International Conflict Analysis at the University of Kent at Canterbury in 2002.
H.E. Ambassador Yeap Samnang was born on 1 December 1979 in Pursat Province of Cambodia. He is currently the Director-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia. He also sits as the Representative of Cambodia to the Advisory Board (AB) of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR).
Prior to his current post, he was the Permanent Representative of Cambodia to ASEAN from 2018 to 2022, Deputy Director-General for ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) and for Community and Corporate Affairs (CCA) from 2016 to 2019 at the General-Department of ASEAN (ASEAN-Cambodia), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia (MFA.IC). He has been appointed ? among others ? as Deputy Director, Head of Division of Administration and ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation at ASEAN-Cambodia (2015-2016); First Secretary at the Royal Embassy of Cambodia to the Republic of Indonesia and Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Cambodia to ASEAN in Jakarta (2011-2015); and Deputy Director, Head of Division of ASEAN Political Cooperation at ASEAN-Cambodia (2010-2011). Before joining the MFA.IC in December 2004, he had been serving as a Desk Official at Bureau of Legislation and Copyrights at the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts of Cambodia from 2002.
Besides, Ambassador Samnang has also working background with NGOs/SCOs, teams of students, youth activities and a researcher in Cambodia. He is awarded with a Master Degree of Social (M.Sos) in Diplomacy from Paramadina Graduate School of Diplomacy in Jakarta, Indonesia, and a Diploma of High-Ranking Civil Servants, majoring in Diplomacy, from the Royal School of Administration in Phnom Penh. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Public Law from the Royal University of Law and Economics, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
He was decorated the Royal Order of the Kingdom of Cambodia in Commander in 2018.
Ambassador Tobing is the Indonesian Representative to the Advisory Board of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR). Previous to this, she was the Indonesian Representative to the Governing Council of ASEAN-IPR from 2017-2021 and also the Indonesian Representative to the Advisory Board of ASEAN-IPR (2014-2017). She also served as the Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam from January 2004 until February 2007. She was awarded the Medal for Friendship from Vietnam Union Friendship Organization, Hanoi, Vietnam (6 February 2007).
After returning from Vietnam, she served as the Head of the Policy Planning Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia until her retirement in 2010.
After her retirement, she served as the Executive Secretary to the Presidential Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs, Dr. N. Hassan Wirajuda from March 2011 until October 2014. She also served as the Eminent Person’s Group representing Indonesia to the Indian Ocean Dialogue in 2015.
In addition to being a diplomat, Ambassador Tobing also lectured at the graduate program on ASEAN Diplomacy at the Paramadina University from 2014 until 2017 and also at Pelita Harapan University for the international program. She has also been involved in mentoring Senior Level Diplomats at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Educational Training Institute since 2015.
Born in Jakarta, Ambassador Tobing earned a Degree in English Literature from the University of Indonesia in 1976 and was awarded the Fulbright & Hayes Scholarship for her Master’s degree in American Studies at the George Washington University in Washington DC from September 1976 – June 1978.
Ambassador Tobing started her career as a diplomat at the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia in 1981 and was posted at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Indonesia in Geneva from August 1984 – August 1988, the Indonesian Mission to the EU in Brussels from August 1992 – August 1996 and also at the Indonesian Embassy in Ottawa from June 1999 – July 2002 the Indonesian Embassy in Ottawa. At Headquarters, she was also assigned in the Office of Directorate General for Political Affairs, ASEAN Department and the Policy Planning Department.
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H.E. Phomma SIDSENA is appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Lao PDR to the Republic of Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste since November 2019. Previously he served as Director-General of Europe-Americas Department of the Committee for External Relations of the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party from 2018 to November 2019, the Acting Head of Cabinet of the Committee for External Relations of the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party from 2011 to 2013, the Director of the Eastern Europe Division of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR (MoFA) from 2009 to 2011, the Director of Functional Cooperation Division of MoFA from 2002 to 2005, and the Director of Southeast Asia and Pacific Division of MoFA from 1997 to 1999. He joined the MoFA since 1984.
Ambassador Phomma was posted as Third Secretary at the Embassy of the Lao PDR in Beijing from 1991 to 1992, First Secretary at the Embassy of the Lao PDR in Jakarta from 1999 to 2002, Counselor at the Embassy of the Lao PDR in Washington D.C. from 2006-2009. Later, he was posted as Minister at the Embassy of the Lao PDR in Hanoi from 2013-2017.
Ambassador Phomma graduated with a Master Degree in International Relations in Australia in 1997, and a Bachelor Degree in International Relation in Viet Nam in 1984.
Dato’ Sri Ahmad Zamzamin bin Hashim is the Representative of Malaysia to the Advisory Board of the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR).
Between 2013-2018 he was appointed by then Prime Minister as Facilitator of the Join Working Group Peace Dialogue Process on Southern Thailand (JWG-PDP). He was Vice-President (Analysis) of Malaysia Islamic Dakwah Foundation (YADIM) between November 2011-July 2013. From 2009 to 2011, he was Director General for Research Division, Prime Minister’s Department. In 1976, he was appointed as Assistant Director for Research Division, Prime Minister’s Department.
Dato’ Sri Ahmad Zamzamin holds a Diploma in Military Strategy (Malaysian Armed Forces Defence College (7/87) Highgate, Kuala Lumpur); and an Honours degree in Social Science, majoring in Political Science (University Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang).
H.E. U Than Htun
Representative of Myanmar to the ASEAN-IPR Advisory Board
Holds Bachelor of Arts, Rangon Arts and Science University (RASU) 1968. Joined the Myanmar Foreign Service, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1974.
Awarded Colombo Plan Scholar in Diploma, Australian Foreign Service Training Course, Canberra A.C.T., 1980.
Posted oversea assignment as third secretary to the Myanmar Permanent Representative Office accredited to the United Nations Office for Europe, Palais des Nations in Geneva 1981-1984.Served at the various Myanmar Embassies abroad.
Achieved Master in International Public Policy, MIPP program of Johns Hopkins University , Fulbright Scholarship, at the School of Advance International Studies, SAIS, Washington D.C. 1987-88. Attended the pre-academic program for the scholarship at the University of Texas, Austin, USA, 1987.
Soon after retiring from the foreign service, in 2004, extended the career as an advisor and nominated to the Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International Studies (Myanmar-ISIS ) which is affiliated to ASEAN-ISIS.
H.E. U Than Htun is contributing his foreign service experience as a scholar and serving as one of the members at Myanmar-ISIS until today.
Assigned duty as a member of ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR) Advisory Board for the first three years term from January 2022 to December 2024.
[Note: Myanmar-ISIS is one of the international and strategic studies Institutes which is affiliated to the Track II Diplomacy related Institute, ASEAN-ISIS in the region as a full-fledged member. The Myanmar ISIS also serves as part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of International Cooperation of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar]
Executive Director Andres S. Aguinaldo, Jr.
Executive Director Andres S. Aguinaldo, Jr. is currently the Executive Director IV for Plans and Programs of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU). Prior to his appointment as Executive Director IV, he has been appointed as – among others – Director IV (January 2019 – December 02, 2019) and Assistant Secretary for Reconciliation and Unity (December 03, 2019 – June 30, 2022) at OPAPRU.
Before his appointment at OPAPRU, Executive Director Aguinaldo Jr. began his military career when he joined the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) in 1985, leading to his Bachelor of Science Degree. Since then, he served the Philippine Army in various capacities such as being an Assistant Division Commander, Brigade Commander, Deputy Brigade Commander, Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, Intel Officer and Platoon Leader among others.
He holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the Philippine Christian University and a Professional Directors Program Course from the Institute of Corporate Directors. Throughout his more than three-decade military career, he has received various honors and awards including the Sagisag ng Ulirang Kawal Award, Gawad sa Kaunlaran Award, United Nations Service Medal and Ribbon, Honor Graduate Awards, twenty (20) Military Commendation Medals, thirty (30) Military Merit Medals, and twenty-five (25) Letters of Commendations.
In November 2022, he has been appointed as the new representative of the Philippines to the ASEAN-Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR) Advisory Board.
Mr. Lawrence Anderson is currently a Senior Fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS). Mr. Anderson was the former Ambassador of Singapore to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Non-Resident Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain from March 2013 to September 2019. Prior to joining RSIS, Mr. Anderson was Director of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), where he oversaw ASEF’s work in acting as the civil society outreach for the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and to promote people-to-people exchange between Asia and Europe.
Mr. Anderson joined the Singapore Foreign Service in 1984. His overseas postings include the Singapore Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, the Singapore Embassy in Washington, and the Singapore Embassy in Bangkok. He was also the Singapore Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia from 2004-07. In MFA Headquarters, he held various appointments covering Singapore’s bilateral relations with its Southeast Asian neighbours, regional policy and strategic security issues involving ASEAN and its relations with the Dialogue Partners, overseeing Singapore’s technical assistance cooperation programmes, as well as managing Singapore’s relations with Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific Islands, the EU and other European countries. Mr. Anderson also served concurrently as Director/Special Duties in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diplomat-in-Residence at the Civil Service College from 2011 to 2013.
Dr. Sukontasap is Co-Founder and a Director of the Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies (IDIS), Rangsit University, Thailand. He is also Director, International Institute for Trade and Development-ITD (Public Organization), Ministry of Commerce of Thailand, and an Advisor to the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Senate of Thailand.
He was previously the Thailand’s Governing Council to the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR) and Governor of Thailand to the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF).
Dr. Sukontasap specializes in regional security issues and topics on regional trade and economic development. He has done extensive work on ASEAN affairs, both from the regional security and international trade perspectives.
A Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Sukontasap received a doctorate degree in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School, Tufts University. He also completed the Program on Managing Global Business for Senior Executives at L’Institut Europeen d’Administration des Affaires (INSEAD), France.
DG Vu Ho is a seasoned diplomat with over 20 years of rich experience in ASEAN affairs. Prior to assuming the current position, he has served different roles at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam including Desk Officer of Department of Economic Affairs (1993), Department of Southeast Asia (1993 – 1994), and ASEAN Department (1994 – 2005); Assistant Director-General, and then Deputy Director-General of ASEAN Department (2005 – 2013); Acting Director-General of the ASEAN Department (2016 – 2017) and Director-General of the ASEAN Department since 2017. He was appointed as Deputy ASEAN SOM Leader in 2021 and then Acting ASEAN SOM Leader in March 2022.
In his overseas posting, he was the Third Secretary of Viet Nam’s Embassy in Washington DC (1999 – 2002) and the Vice Consul-General of Viet Nam’s Consulate General in Houston (2013-2016).
Before beginning his diplomat career, he was the Chief of Office of Izvestia Russian Daily Newspapers (1988 – 1989) and Officer of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) (1992 – 1993).
DG Vu Ho graduated from the University of Language and International Studies in Hanoi, Vietnam National University, and gained his MA in Economics and International Relations from the Russian Foreign Trade Academy and Johns Hopkins University, respectively.
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ASEAN-IPR Secretariat
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The Executive Director (ED) of ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR) represents the Institute in all administrative and operational matters, and manage activities of the Institute. The ED is responsible to the Governing Council, and would make regular reports on the work of the Institute to the relevant Senior Officials to the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) Council.
Ambassador I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja is currently the Executive Director of ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR).
Previously, he was Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Permanent Representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) (February 2016-June 2020). He was ASEAN-SOM Leader Indonesia/Director-General for ASEAN Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and also served as High-Level Task Force Indonesia on ASEAN Community Post-2015 Vision (2012-2016). He also served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Indonesia to the Republic of Austria and Republic of Slovenia, concurrently the Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna (March 2010-2012). In 2006-2009, he served as Ambassador/Deputy Permanent Representative of Indonesia to the United Nations, World Trade Organisation and other International Organisations in Geneva.
In addition to the above assignments, Ambassador Puja also served as Vice Chairperson of the Conference of State Parties (CSP), Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 2017-2018; Governor of Indonesia to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors in 2011-2012; Indonesian Sherpa for the Nuclear Security Summit 2012 (2010-2011); President of the Inter-Government Committee (IGC) on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore, World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO); and a Member of the Indonesian Negotiators for the Aceh Peace Agreement in 2000-2005.
Ambassador Puja has been granted – among others – Ridder Grootkruis in de Orde van Oranje-Nassau/Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Orange – Nassau, The King of The Netherlands (June 2020); Ksatria Bakti Husada Arutala, Minister of Health (2011); Bintang Jasa Utama Award in 2010; and the Dharma Nusa Award in 2006.
Ambassador Puja is a graduate from Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and acquired his post-graduate at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (USA), The Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies. He is married, with 2 children.
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