IGC India Conference- Strengthening State Effectiveness for Gender-Inclusive Development
Patna, Bihar
9th August 2019
IGC Panel Discussion: Equality and Empowerment
[1/6] Setting the context
Rajan Sudesh Ratna
Economic Officer, UNESCAP South and South-West Asia Office, New Delhi
Rajan Sudesh Ratna has been working in the Trade and Investment Division of UN ESCAP since July 2012. His current assignment relates to research and analysis of international trade issues, especially those relating to WTO and RTAs as well as formulating and organising capacity building programmes for ESCAP members. Before beginning his ESCAP assignment, Dr Ratna worked in the Government of India for 25 years (as a member of Indian Trade Service), initially in the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and later in the Ministry of Commerce handling the regional & multilateral trade policy issues. While working there, he formulated India’s Foreign Trade Policy, DFQF Scheme for LDCs and participated in several negotiations relating to WTO and Free Trade Agreements, including rules of origin. From June 2008 to December 2010, he worked as Professor, Centre for WTO Studies, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi. He has written books on Rules of Origin, India’s RTAs, and Mainstreaming Gender through India’s Foreign Trade Policy. He has also published several papers on regional and multilateral trade issues in leading periodicals. He has done his MSc from Banaras Hindu University; MPhil and PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University. He has also done courses on Foreign Trade Policy from IIFT and on Negotiating Strategy from Harvard University.
