Bojan Petrovski, Macedonia (PP ’09); Head of International Office, Tokyo, Agency for Foreign Investment of Macedonia

Bojan has been heading the Tokyo International Office of the Agency for Foreign Investment of Macedonia since October 2009. Over the past two years he met with more than 100 Japanese companies’ executives to promote Macedonia as an investment destination and has successfully negotiated some major deals. In addition, Bojan is preparing the ground to establish Macedonia’s first embassy in Tokyo. He recently talked about this mission to the Japan Times and the article can be read here. Prior to coming to Japan, Bojan worked as a consultant in the European Commissions’s Human Resource Development Fund operating under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy. He was also engaged in the World Bank’s Social Protection Implementation Project executed within the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy.

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Ma. Cyd Tua?o-Amador, Philippines (PP ’88); Assistant Governor, MPSS, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

As Assistant Governor, Dr. Ma. Cyd Tua?o-Amador heads the Monetary Policy Sub-Sector (MPSS) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Republic of the Philippines. The MPSS oversees the operations and functions of four core Departments in the BSP, namely, the Department of Economic Research (DER), the Department of Economic Statistics (DES), the Center for Monetary and Financial Policy (CMFP), and the Economic and Financial Learning Center (EFLC). She is a member of the Advisory Committee that recommends the monetary policy stance of the Monetary Board of the BSP. She also represents the Bank in various international and regional meetings as well as in various local inter-agency committees.

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Raphael Owino Otieno, Kenya (PP ’02); Director, Debt Management Programme, Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa (MEFMI)

Raphael O. Otieno is currently the Director of Debt Management Programme at Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa (MEFMI), a 13 member country capacity building organisation based in Harare, Zimbabwe. He received his M.A. in Public Policy from GRIPS in 2002 and a B.A. Economics (Hons) from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. Otieno has vast experience in public finance and macroeconomic analysis. He has held various senior positions in Kenya’s public service including working as an Economist in Kenya’s Ministries of Finance and Planning, Policy Analyst at the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA), and Senior Research Officer/Economist at the Central Bank of Kenya. His experience on Public Debt management issues spans more than 16 years. He is married and has three children.

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Melis Mambetjanov, Kyrgyz Republic (’01); Minister of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic

From 1997 until his enrollment in GRIPS’ forerunner, the Graduate School of Policy Science (GSPS) in 1999, Melis Mambetjanov was Assistant Secretary of the Kyrgyz Republic Minister of Finance. Mr. Mambetjanov enrolled in the Development Studies Program in 1999 and was part of the last batch of graduates from the Graduate School of Policy Science at Saitama University. After graduating from GSPS in 2001, Melis returned to the Ministry of Finance in his homeland where he held several positions before becoming the Minister of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic in February 2011. Melis also serves as Governor for the Kyrgyz Republic of The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

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Krishna Bahadur Raut, Nepal (PP ’09); Joint Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Transport Management & Executive Director of Social Security Fund

Krishna Bahadur Raut was appointed Joint Secretary at the National Planning Commission Secretariat in February 2011. He is the youngest person ever to have been promoted to the rank of Joint-Secretary in Nepal’s Civil Service. He has been given the challenging task of running the recently established Social Security Fund as Executive Director and is responsible for designing and implementing the country’s social security programs. Krisha graduated from the Public Policy Program at GRIPS in 2009. Upon his return to Nepal, he was posted at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works. Krishna begun his professional career in 2003 when he entered the Ministry of General Administration. After just a few months he was shifted to the National Planning Commission Secretariat where he worked as Planning Officer until he was granted study leave to pursue his Master’s degree at GRIPS from October 2008.

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Nguyen Duc Thanh, Vietnam (Ph.D. ’08); Director, Vietnam Centre for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR), University of Economics and Business, Vietnam National University, Hanoi

Dr. Nguyen Duc Thanh earned his PhD. in Development Economics from GRIPS in 2008. He has been teaching macroeconomics at leading universities in Vietnam. He was a senior researcher in the Policy Advisory Group at the Ministry of Finance from March 2007 to September 2008. In July 2008, he co-founded the Vietnam Centre for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR) at the University of Economics and Business, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, and has been acting as VEPR’s Director and Chief Economist since then. Dr. Thanh is a member of several advisory committees. He was recently invited to join the Macroeconomic Advisory Group for the Economic Committee, Vietnam National Assembly. Dr. Thanh publishes extensively in academic journals and is actively involved in the country’s policy debates. He is the founder and chief editor of the influential Vietnam Annual Economic Reports. The Reports – published annually since 2009 – are widely recognized in the economic research and policy making profession.

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Muhammad Aamer, Pakistan (PF ’05); Commercial Counsellor, Consulate General of Pakistan, New York, USA

Muhammad Aamer was appointed as Commercial Counsellor in the Consulate General of Pakistan, New York in September 2007. He is dedicated to promote trade between Pakistan and the United States of America in 14 U.S. States mainly on the East Coast. Aamer is a distinguished officer of the Federal Board of Revenue working under the Ministry of Finance, Pakistan and has served as Customs, Central Excise and Sales Tax Officer at number of assignments in Pakistan since 1995. He also served as a liaison officer with the World Customs Organizations, World Trade Organization and has dealt with a host of trade agreements between Pakistan and other trading partners. Aamer graduated with a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore in 1992. He also received a Bachelor of Arts and Diploma in International Affairs from Punjab University, Lahore and, finally, a Masters in Public Finance from GRIPS in 2005.

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Rika Yorozu, Japan (IDS ’03); Programme Specialist, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), Hamburg, Germany

MAfter graduating with a BA from Tokyo’s International Christian University in 1991, Rika’s first job was at an NGO in Japan called Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU) where she was dealing with the implementation of regional literacy collaboration programmes in Asia-Pacific. In 1999, she moved to Bangkok to work for UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education as an associate expert on the development of regional resource books on literacy and non-formal education. After two years Rika returned to Japan and, eager to further advance her career, enrolled in the IDS program at GRIPS in 2001.Rika has been with UNESCO’s Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), a non-profit, policy-driven, international research, training, information, documentation and publishing centre of UNESCO located in Hamburg, Germany, since her graduation from GRIPS in 2003. In her current capacity as programme specialist, Rika is dealing with policy research, advocacy and capacity building of education policy makers. She is responsible for coordinating the Institute’s activities for Africa and is officer for literacy programmes in Asian and African countries.

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Ahmad Rozian Abd. Ghani, Malaysia (YLP ’04); Minister Counsellor/Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Malaysia, Tokyo

Rozian Ghani is about to finish his four-year posting at the Embassy of Malaysia in Tokyo. In the interview Rozian looks back at his experience here and how his studies at GRIPS has helped him understand and strengthen the bilateral relations between Malaysia and Japan. Rozian received a Bachelor of Law (Honours) degree from the National University of Malaysia in 1992. After a brief stint as legal consultant at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Rozian joined the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1994. He has been working mostly on bilateral issues, first as Assistant Secretary at the MOFA headquarters in the Kuala Lumpur and then at his posts at the Embassy of Malaysia in Budapest (1998-2001) and Algiers (2001-2002). Shortly after returning to Malaysia, Rozian applied and was accepted into the GRIPS Young Leaders Program and he completed his Master in Public Policy in 2004. Upon his return to Kuala Lumpur, Rozian worked for two and a half years as a Special Officer to the Secretary General at MOFA before being posted as Counsellor at the Embassy in Tokyo in 2007. He was promoted to Minister Counsellor in 2009 and is currently also Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy. He is responsible for reporting and covering both political and economic aspects of the bilateral relationship with Japan. In his free time, Rozian likes to go out and explore Japan. And, being a fervent runner, he has participated no less than three times in the Tokyo Marathon, including the most recent 2011 one, held in February this year.

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Brian C. Gozun, Philippines (PP ’00; Ph.D. ’08); Dean, College of Business, De la Salle University, Manila

Brian graduated with a Master of Arts from the School of Urban and Regional Planning, University of the Philippines Diliman in 1999 and received his Master in Policy Analysis degree from GRIPS’ predecessor the Graduate School of Policy Science (GSPS) in 2000. After returning home, he worked for some time as instructor at he University of the Philippines. Brian returned to Japan in 2003 to enroll in the Ph.D. program at GRIPS. Under the guidance of Dean Prof. Tatsuo Oyama, Brian specialized in Operations Research and successfully defended his dissertation, entitled “Applying Systems Analysis Approaches for Measuring the Robustness” in July 2008. Brian initially returned to the Unback in the Philippines, Brian soon moved to the Holy Angel University where he was appointed Associate Professor, and became Dean of the Graduate School of Business in June 2009. In March 2010, Brian was on the move again and became Dean of the College of Business at De La Salle University in Manila with a mission to strengthen the international reputation of the college.

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Shavkat Inamov, Uzbekistan (YLP ’04); Joint Chief Executive Officer, Uzbekinvest International InsuranceCompany Ltd (UIIC) and Chartis Uzbekinvest Ltd, London

Shavkat Inamov has been serving as Joint Chief Executive of Uzbekinvest International Insurance Company Limited (UIIC) and Chartis Uzbekinvest Limited since September 2008. The companies are based in London and deal with promoting new foreign investment in infrastructure, natural resource development and industrial production in Uzbekistan by providing political risk insurance to foreign investors. Prior to moving to London, Shavkat gained experience in the management of financial services and insurance operations at Uzbekinvest in Tashkent where he worked for three and a half years, first as General Manager of the Export Credits and Investments Insurance Department and later as First Deputy Director General. Shavkat earned a diploma in Economics from Tashkent State University in 1995 and spent much of the early days of his career in various capacities at the Geology Development Commercial Bank and the National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity. He moved to the Cabinet of Ministers in 2002 where he worked as Chief Officer of the Department of External Economic Relations and Foreign Investments until he came to GRIPS and enrolled in the Young Leaders Program in October 2003.

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