Our Team
The Faces of Mekong Institute
MR. SURIYAN VICHITLEKARN
As Mekong Institute's Executive Director beginning on September 1, 2020, Mr. Suriyan Vichitlekarn steers the strategic planning and implementation of the intergovernmental organization's human resource development, capacity strengthening, and research efforts to spur the acceleration of sustainable socioeconomic development and poverty alleviation in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS).
Recognized as a respected development leader and regional integration advocate, Mr. Suriyan holds over 15 years of experience in delivering innovative approaches and sustainable practices across his specialized areas of agriculture and rural development, public- private partnership, and trade facilitation in the GMS and Southeast Asia.
Before taking the helm at MI, Mr. Suriyan was the Deputy Cluster Coordinator for Food and Agriculture of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in Thailand and Spokesperson of the Agriculture Working Group under the GIZ Sector Network for Natural Resources and Rural Development in Asia and the Pacific.
As Deputy Cluster Coordinator, Mr. Suriyan spearheaded project steering and management, as well as partnership development in the food and agriculture sectors across the GMS. He, as the Regional Project Director of the Better Rice Initiative Asia from 2014 to 2017, also ushered several rice-related initiatives, which continue to be adapted and implemented by major rice-producing countries across Southeast Asia today.
In addition, Mr. Suriyan carries an extensive international development network, having assumed key positions at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat in Indonesia, and the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center. He remains one of the most sought-after and prolific speakers for his macro- and micro-level perspectives on agricultural development in high-level knowledge exchange and dialogue-sharing platforms organized by international and regional organizations such as ADB, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, ASEAN, FAO, the Greater Mekong Subregional Economic Cooperation, and the Sustainable Rice Platform. Mr. Suriyan has also contributed to numerous research and policy studies, including being the lead author of the ASEAN Integrated Food Security Framework.
Mr. Suriyan is a Thai national and graduate of Faculty of Fisheries at Kasetsart University, Thailand. He completed his master's degree program on Management of Agricultural Knowledge Systems (MAKS) at the Wageningen Agricultural University, the Netherlands.
MR. MADHURJYA KUMAR DUTTA
Mr. Madhurjya Kumar Dutta is currently the Director, Trade and Investment Facilitation Department of the Mekong Institute. He also served as the Director/Chief of Party of the MekongSustainable Manufacturing Alliance (MSMA) a regional program funded by USAID and implemented by the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) a US based international organization. Earlier, Mr. Dutta served as Research Director of the Economic Institute of Cambodia (EIC) and Adviser of the Cambodia India Entrepreneurship Development Institute. He was also conferred as an Honorary Advisor to the Government of Cambodia through a royal decree by the Prime Minister and the King of the Kingdom of Cambodia.
Mr. Dutta has over 24 years of experience in the development sector. His key areas of interest are enterprise development, trade and investment facilitation and sustainability issues. He has designed and implemented several development projects on MSME development, value chain integration, cross border trade, market access, eCommerce, sustainable transport and logistics, sustainable tourism etc in the GMS countries. He was also consulted by the UNESCAP, ADB, World Bank, ILO, IOM, ITC, GIZ, UNDP among others. Mr. Dutta has also published several articles and research papers in reputed journals and magazines.
Mr. Dutta earned his MS in Regional Development Planning and Management from Technical University of Dortmund, Germany, Master’s degree from Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi.
DR. JULIAN LATIMER CLARKE
Dr. Julian Latimer Clarke is the resident specialist in the Trade and Investment Facilitation Department of the Mekong Institute. He served as a Senior Economist, South East Asia for the World Bank for 12 years. At the World Bank, he oversaw large trade and investment programs in countries such as Cambodia, Lao PDR, Mongolia, and contributed to country programs in Brunei, Malaysia and Thailand. He has worked with multiple development partners such as the DFAT, the European Union, DFID and various organs of the United Nations.
He previously worked for the IMF, IDRC, the OECD and the World Trade Organisation.
Dr. Clarke has 16 years of experience in trade and development. His key areas of interest are trade facilitation, value chains, investment facilitation, competition, and technical barriers to trade. He has designed and implemented multiple programs, working with governments and development partners in East Asia. He has authored numerous reports for the World Bank including policy notes that contributed to government policy and legislative reforms. Dr. Clarke has published in academic journals such as the Antitrust Bulletin, the Journal of World Economics, book chapters published by the WTO and EU among others.
Dr. Clarke has a PhD in Economics majoring in trade and competition from the University of St.Gallen. He earned a Masters degree in International Law and Economics from the World Trade Institute in Bern, Switzerland. He also has a Bachelors degree in Economics from the University of Sydney.
MR. SA-NGA SATTANUN
Mr. Sa-nga Sattanun is a Program Manager at Trade and Investment Facilitation (TIF) Department of Mekong Institute (MI). Mr. Sa-nga has been involved in the design and implementation of capacity building programs in the areas of SME development and competitiveness, Entrepreneurship, Business Database Development, Trade Facilitation, Agribusiness, Tourism, Transport and Logistics, which supported by international organizations, such as UNIAP, NZAID, ADB, EDI, TICA, JICA, SDC, JAIF, MKCF and Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Special Fund. He also co-conducted researches on “Cross-Border Value Chain Bottlenecks in the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC) and Market and Value Chain Mapping along SEC in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, SME Cluster Development in CLMV Countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) and Joint Study and Survey of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and Cross Border Economic Zones (CBEZs) to match Complementary SEZs and Identify Prioritized Areas”. Currently, Mr. Sa-nga, as a team member is implementing related programs on Green Freight and Logistics Development, Joint Development of Cross-Border Special Economic Zones, Upgrading Border Facilitation for Trade and Logistics Development, Action Research on Rural E-Commerce Development in Lancang-Mekong, Lancang- Mekong Business Forum and Supporting Internationalisation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Linking India and the Greater Mekong Subregion – 02 International Business Accelerator. Mr. Sa-nga earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the College of Graduate Study in Management, Khon Kaen University, Thailand.
For the comprehensive CV of Mr. Sa-nga, please visit here.
MS. MARIA THERESA MEDIALDIA
Ms. Maria Theresa S. Medialdia is the Director of the Agricultural Development and Commercialization (ADC) Department. She joined the Institute with more than 20 years of experience in development work, research, project management, training, and teaching in various disciplines including supply chains and marketing, industrial organization, farming systems/sustainable agriculture, community development, impact assessment, project monitoring and evaluation, and socio-economics.
Prior to joining MI, she worked as University Researcher and Affiliate Assistant Professor at the University of the Philippines Los Baños and was on secondment to the International Rice Research Institute and the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture for several years. She has worked in the US, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines as researcher, trainer, facilitator, technical adviser, and consultant with various international organizations such as the Asian Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Food and Agriculture Organization, German Agency for International Cooperation, the European Commission, International Development Research Center, and the World Bank.
She obtained her BS degree in Agribusiness from University of the Philippines Los Baños, MS degree in Agricultural Economics from University of Kentucky, USA, and post-graduate diploma in Executive Program in Management from Maastricht School of Management, The Netherlands.
Ms. RATNA DEVI NADARAJAN
Ms. Ratna Devi Nadarajan is Program Specialist at the ADC Department. She has over 20 years of experience in the areas of national quality infrastructure, sustainable consumption/production, and consumer protection at national, ASEAN and international levels, with her work in these areas intersecting related issues such as trade facilitation, consumer protection and environmental sustainability goals.
From 2014 to 2017, Ms. Nadarajan served as Chair of the ISO Committee on Consumer Policy where she facilitated research projects on emerging issues related to international standards of importance to consumers, and offered policy recommendations to members and ISO councils. She was also lead coordinator for the Asia and Consumer Policy in International Standardization Network, where she designed and delivered capacity building programs to over 300 national standards bodies and consumer representatives from Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.
Her previous engagements also included the development and implementation of projects under the APEC Support Fund on Regional Product Safety Incident Information Sharing, and the UNEP 10-Year Framework Program Trust Fund on Food Waste. Likewise, as Secretary General of the Malaysian Water Forum, she worked with the Malaysian Water Services Industry Commission on water demand management, non-revenue water management, climate change raw water security and consumer education.
An experienced trainer, she had worked with various sectors in Lao PDR and Vietnam on training programs on international standardization and stakeholder engagement, as well as with UNIDO and UNCTAD officers on the subject of consumer protection issues and guidelines.
Ms. Nadarajan has a bachelor’s degree in food science and a master’s in environmental science.
MS. JUTAMAS THONGCHAROEN
Ms. Jutamas Thongcharoen is ADC Program Manager and an accredited Regional Training Specialist of MRCs FMMP Program. Before joining MI, Ms. Thongcharoen served various administration and project coordination roles at Khon Kaen University including the Faculty of Public Health, Institute of Dispute Resolution, and the Agriculture Consulting International Company.
She has a master’s degree in Rural Development Management from Khon Kaen University.
Ms. Jian (Tina) Wang
Ms. Jian (Tina) Wang is currently working as a Program Manager at the Sustainable Energy and Environment Department. With over 13 years of working experience at the Mekong Institute, she has managed various project portfolios from design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, capacity building adaptive management and database management. As a Program Manager, she has also been taking care of strategy development and partnership building with both public and private sectors.
Ms. Wang is a public affairs professional with over 14 years’ demonstrated experience in international development across different countries. She has extensive experience in engaging with different national, intergovernmental and development/donor agencies and private sector, relatively high exposure to portfolio management, program/project management, monitoring and evaluation, strategic partnership building/development, capacity building, strategic communication, strategic planning, data analysis, event management, strategic sustainable development and leadership in complexity.
Prior to the MI, she worked as Director Assistant at the Rare, a U.S.-based Non-Governmental Organization focusing on promoting the sustainable nature resource management in China targeting at local leaders. She gained substantial knowledge and direct experience on environment protection, nature resource management and community outreach.
Ms. Wang holds a B.Econ. in International Economics and Trade and a M.A. in Business Management from China, and has a M.S. in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability from Sweden, and completed a Micro Master in Data, Economics, and Development Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.