H.E. Ms. Battsetseg Batmunkh, Foreign Minister of Mongolia

Ms. Battsetseg Batmunkh graduated the National University of Mongolia with Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations. Also, she graduated with Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration at the Institute of Finance and Economics in Mongolia and Master’s Degree in Business Administration in Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands. Ms. Battsetseg Batmunkh worked as Vice Minister of the Foreign Affairs of Mongolia between 2016-2020, and has been currently working as the Minister of the Foreign Affairs of Mongolia since January 2021. She speaks English and Russian.

Mr. Munkhtushig Lkhanaajav, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia

Mr. Munkhtushig Lkhanaajav graduated from the China Foreign Affairs University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Diplomacy in 2007. He also earned a Master’s Degree in Law from Peking University in 2016. Mr. Munkhtushig began his diplomatic career in 2008 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia, serving in the Protocol Division and the Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs. From 2011 to 2014, he worked as Attaché, Consul, and Third Secretary at the Embassy of Mongolia in Sweden. He later served as Second Secretary at the Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs, Deputy Director and Director of the Consular Department, and from 2021 to June 2024, as Deputy Head of Mission and Minister-Counsellor at the Embassy of Mongolia in China. Since August 2024, he has been serving as the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia. He holds the diplomatic rank of First Deputy and speaks Chinese and English.

Dr. Mendee Jargalsaikhan Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies of Mongolia

Dr. Mendee graduated from the Mongolian National Defense University and received his MAs from the US Naval Postgraduate School and the University of British Columbia. He obtained his PhD in political science from the University of British Columbia. Mendee served as political science and language instructor at the National Defense University, the Chief of the Foreign Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Defense, Defense Attaché at the Embassy of Mongolia in Washington, DC, senior expert at the Institute for Strategic Studies and Deputy Director of the Institute for Defense Analysis. He was the first Senior National Representative at the US Central Command in Tampa, Florida, the Asia Studies Visiting Fellow at the East West Center in Washington, and Post Graduate Research Fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.

Ms. Mandkhai Batsuren - Mongolia

Ms. Mandkhai Batsuren is the Director-General of Department of Multilateral Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia. Ms. Mandkhai Batsuren entered the foreign service in 2008. Since then, she has been serving at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia and has been working in different capacities in the Ministry, and in diplomatic Missions abroad. Ms. Mandkhai Batsuren holds a BA in International Relations from the Moscow State University of International Relations (MGIMO), and a MA in International Relations and Diplomacy from the United Nations Institute of Training and Research (UNITAR) and the Open University of Catalonia (UOC).

Ms. Khandsure Beejin - Mongolia

Khandsuren graduated from the Mongolian National Defense University (MNDU) as a Military Command, Tactics, and Communications Officer, and as a Communications Engineer. She received her M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Military Science from the Mongolian National Defense University. She received training in “Civil-Military Relations” in the Republic of Indonesia, “Cybersecurity” in the French Republic, and “Advanced Security Cooperation” in the United States of America.
Khandsuren previously served at the MNDU’s Institute of Defense Studies. While at MNDU, she worked as a Communication Lecturer, an Associate of Academic Affairs, a Senior Researcher, and a professor. Positions held at other academic institutions include serving as Associate and Chief of Academic Affairs at the UFE, GLU, and GMIT. She has worked as a Member of the Masters and Doctoral Defense Council at both MNDU and GLU. In addition, she has worked as a Junior Researcher and Member of the Science and Technology Council of the Mongolian Ministry of Defense.

Mr. Altankhuu Badarch - Mongolia

Altankhuu graduated from the Mongolian Defense University and Mongolian National University. He received his master’s degrees from the University of Glasgow, UK in international law, and National Defense University, PRC in Military science and Strategic studies. He studied National Security and Strategy at Army War College, USA, and currently working towards his Ph.D. in foreign policy in national security at National Defense University, Mongolia. He has experience working as an inspector, officer, senior officer, head of section and department, and deputy head in the BPO, as well as in the Executive office of NSC, and the Institute for Strategic Studies.

Mr. Andrew Berryman - Australia

Mr Berryman has 20 years’ experience working in the Australian public sector including postings to Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Thursday Island. He has extensive experience working in the Australian Department of Defence and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in international policy, program management and development roles. Mr Berryman served as the Strategic Advisor to the PNG Department of Defence under the Defence Cooperation Program from 2017 to 2020 and Head of the Torres Strait Treaty Liaison Office from 2021-2024. On 19 August 2024 Mr Berryman commenced as Deputy Head of Mission to the Australian Embassy in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Mr. Leszek Buszynski - Australia

Leszek Buszynski is an Honorary Professor with the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University, Canberra Australia. He has published widely on Asia Pacific and now Indo Pacific security issues and was general editor of the Handbook of Japanese Security (Japan Documents 2023) and co-editor of Maritime issues and Regional Order in the Indo Pacific Palgrave (Macmillan 2021) and The South China Sea: from Regional Maritime Dispute to Geostrategic Competition (Routledge 2020. He was the sole author of The Geopolitics of the Western Pacific: China Japan and the United States (Routledge 2019).

Ms. Lucienne Manton - Australia

Ms Manton is a senior career officer with DFAT and was most recently Assistant Secretary, EU Political and Strategy Branch. She has previously served with the United States Branch, People Smuggling Taskforce, Iraq Taskforce and at the Australian High Commission in London.

Ms. Marie-Alice McLean Dreyfus - Australia

Marie-Alice McLean Dreyfus is a career defence official. She has held a number of roles across the department including in policy and international engagement. She is currently First Secretary Defence responsible for Mongolia and China based at the Australian Embassy in Beijing.

Mr. Sergei Tomashov - Belarus

Analyst of the Foreign Policy Department of the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies. Research interests: sanctions policy in international relations, application of restrictive measures in international trade; current issues of cooperation between Belarus and neighboring countries

Hon. Bryon Wilfert - Canada

The Honourable Bryon Wilfert served for 26 years of elected political office both as a Municipal Councillor and as Member of Parliament. He served as Junior Minister of the Environment, as well as Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and National Defence. He served as Vice President of APPECD Asia Pacific Parliamentarians Environment Conference Development) based in Korea. Bryon holds a Master of Arts in Political Economy (U of T), Institute of Corporate Directors designation (ICD.D) (U of T – Rotman School), Accredited Municipal Clerk and Treasurer (AMCT) in Municipal Administration He was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun – Gold/Silver Star from His Imperial Majesty. He holds the Queen’s Gold and Diamond Jubilee Medals. King Charles III Coronation Medal Bryon serves as Honorary Consul for Mongolia (Ontario, Canada),Chair of the Canada/Pakistan Business Council and Advisor to the Canada/Vietnam Trade Council. GOPAC member dealing with corruption issues in government

Mr. Bo Xu - China

Professor and Director of Russian Research Center of JilinUniversity

Mr. Dianjun Ba - China

Deputy Director of the Northeast Asian Research Center of Jilin University

Ms. Huizhen Jin - China

Assistant Professor

Mr. Jiahan CAO - China

Senior Researcher

Ms. Jing Jing - China

Jing Jing，the Assistant Professor of Northeast Asian Research Center of Jilin University. The major is International Polictis,and main research interests are global governance and Chinese diplomacy.

Mr. Junshe Zhang - China

Mr. Shen Weizhong - China

VP，Global Governance Institution. Formerly Director of DIvisions in several Departments of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, including Departments of Policy Planning, External Security, etc.

Ms. Tianchen Wei - China

Mr. Xiaomeng Lei - China

Lei Xiaomeng joined the China Electricity Council (CEC) in 2016. Prior to that, He successively worked at the National Power Dispatching Center, government energy management departments, and China Yangtze Power Co., Ltd. His work experience covers multiple areas, including power system operation, power development planning, power market research, pre-project development of hydropower projects, and overseas power project investment.

Mr. Zihan Zhuo - China

Assistant Professor, China Institute, Fudan University

Mr. Zixuan Guo - China

Energy Expert

Ms. Dunja Sicaja - Croatia

Director for Eurasia and Oceania, Directorate-General for Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia

Mr. Peter Due - Denmark

Peter Due serves as the Director for Asia and the Pacific in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO) in New York. He previously served in various other capacities with the UN, including as the Director for Asia, Middle East, Europe and Latin America in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) in New York and as the Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Office in Belgrade (UNOB). Earlier in his career, he served with the UN peacekeeping operations in Sierra Leone, Kosovo and Liberia and with the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Copenhagen and at the Danish Embassy in Eritrea. He is a graduate of the Universities of Oxford, Geneva and Copenhagen.

Mr. Tommi Jämsä - Finland

Second Secretary, Desk Officer for Mongolia at the Embassy of Finland (Beijing)

Ms. Amandine Cros - France

Non resident defense attaché for FRANCE

Mr. Arnaud Leveau - France

Arnaud leads the Indo-Pacific department at Asia Centre, France’s top Asia focused think tank. With 27+ years of regional experience, he’s worked across academia, diplomacy, and strategy. A Ph.D. in Political Science, he’s also a professor at Paris Dauphine University, founder of Alta Strategies, and author on Indo-Pacific security and regional affairs.

Ms. Emma COÏC - France

Emma Coïc joined the Ministry's Directorate General for International Relations and Strategy as a North-East Asia Advisor in April 2023. Her professional experience mainly covers Asian affairs and politico-strategic issues. She previously worked for a German political foundation in South Korea, the French Embassy in Vietnam as well as the French Consulate in Hong Kong. She completed her university studies in a franco-german curriculum between Sciences Po Aix in France and the University of Freiburg in Germany. She holds a dual bachelor’s degree in political sciences as well as a dual master's degree in Geostrategy, Defence and Security from those universities.

Mr. Nicolas Rossignol - France

CPT (Navy) Nicolas Rossignol is Head of the Asia, Oceania and Latin America Department of the Directorate for International Relations and Strategy (DGRIS) at the French Ministry for Armed Forces. Captain Rossignol benefits from operational and human experience covering the full spectrum of armed forces missions, in particular those of Navy units, from patrol boats to amphibious helicopter carriers and the Atlantic 2, in various theaters of operation. He participated in numerous operations, ranging from former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Lebanon. He has acquired a wide-ranging inter-service culture in various military commands, from the tactical to the strategic level, providing him with a thorough understanding of the department's strategic issues and international relations.

Mr. Bernhard Altersberger - Germany

Defence Attaché to China and Mongolia since September 2023

Mr. Nico Huelshoff - Germany

Since Aug 2024: Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany

Mr. Denis Staunton - Ireland

Denis Staunton has been China Correspondent for The Irish Times since October 2022. Based in Beijing, he reports on politics, economics, society, culture and diplomacy with a particular emphasis on China’s relationship with the European Union. From 2015 to 2022 he was London Editor, leading the newspaper’s coverage of Britain’s withdrawal from the EU and the negotiations that followed. He served as correspondent in Washington from 2005 to 2009, in Brussels from 2000 to 2005 and in Berlin from 1995 to 2000. From 2009 to 2011 he was Foreign Editor and from 2011 to 2015 he was Deputy Editor.

Ms. Adi Dror - Israel

Political counsellor at the embassy of Israel in Beijing.

Mr. Hiroshi Yamazoe - Japan

Hiroshi YAMAZOE is Head of America, Europe, and Russia Division at the National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS). His research interests are mainly Russian security policy and international history in East Asia. He obtained an MA in Russian Studies from School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London in 2005, and a Ph.D in Human and Environmental Studies from Kyoto University in 2008. He has been working at NIDS since 2008 and was a visiting fellow at Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in 2012. His works include “Russia’s Classical Notion of Great Power and Waning “Sphere of Influence,” Masayuki Masuda ed. The Shifting Dynamics of Great Power Competition, NIDS, 2023; “Chapter 2: The Growing Influence of China as Seen from Central Asia and Russia,” NIDS China Security Report 2020, NIDS, November 2019; “Russia’s Eastward Approach to East Asia: The Qing, Japan, and Boundary Issues with Russia” in Takashi Okamoto ed., A World History of Suzerainty: A Modern History of East and West Asia and Translated Concepts, Toyo Bunko, 2019.

Mr. Hiroyuki Kobayashi - Japan

Project Researcher of RCAST, University of Tokyo

Mr. Masaki Nakamura - Japan

Waseda University, School of Education, majoring in Geography and History, BA in 1993 Nagoya University, Graduate School of International Development MA in 1996 After working as Research Associate at the Nagoya University Center for Asian Legal Exchange and Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Law, became a Professor at Nagoya University of Economics in 2015. Research topics are constitutional history of Mongolia and comparative law.

Dr. Mie Oba - Japan

Dr. Mie Oba is a professor at Kanagawa University. She obtained her M.A and Ph.D at the University of Tokyo. Her major is International Relations, especially is focusing on Asian regionalisms empirically and theoretically. She was associate professor and professor at the Tokyo University of Science (2001-2020), and an Academic Associate, US-Japan Relationship Program at Harvard University (2006-2007). She has written a lot of articles and books, including “Towards an equal partnership” East Asia Forum, Vol.15, No.3, 2023, “Japan’s Quest for an autonomous role in East Asian Regionalism” Lam, Peng Er and Purnendra Jain eds., Japan’s foreign policy in the 21st century: continuity and change, Lexington Books/ Rowman& Littlefield, 2020, Higashi Jusoteki-Chiiki toshiteno Ajia: Tairitsu to Kyozon no Kozu (Asia as a Multi-layered Region: Co-existence in Conflicts), Yuhikaku (2014), Ajia Taiheiyo Chiiki Keisei heno Dotei: Kyokai-Kokka Nichi-Go no Aidentiti Mosaku to Chiiki-Shyugi (The Invention of the Asia Pacific Region: A History of Regionalism and Search for Identity by Japan and Australia as Liminal Nations), Minerva Shobo (2004). She received The 21st Ohira Masayoshi Memorial Prize (2005) and the 11th Nakasone Yasuhiro Incentive Award(2015) . She was the Chairperson, Expert Panel for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation (until 2023.2).

Mr. Mitsuhiro Mimura - Japan

Dr. MIMURA, Mitsuhiro is a Professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute for Northeast Asia, University of Niigata Prefecture (ERINA-UNP) in Niigata, Japan. His specialty includes North Korean law and economy, economic cooperation in Eurasia, mainly in Northeast Asia. He is one of the rare Japanese scholars who regularly exchanges thoughts directly with North Korean scholars in Pyongyang. Supported by colleagues in both Koreas, China, Russia, the U.S., the E.U. and Japan, his research has deep insight on Northeast Asia. His recent research can be accessed through https://researchmap.jp/mimura?lang=en.

Mr. Shu Uchida - Japan

Dr. Shu Uchida is a researcher specializing in international political theory, international conflict studies, and regional studies on Europe and post-Soviet states (e.g., Georgia). He is currently a Project Researcher at the Global Security & Religion Division, Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo since April 2025, and concurrently serves as a Visiting Associate Professor at the Slavic-Eurasian Research Center, Hokkaido University. He is also an Assistant Professor at Waseda University. https://researchmap.jp/shu.uchida?lang=en

Ms. Yoko Iwaka - Japan

Professor of International Relations, GRIPS Director of Security and Strategy Program (SSP). Her specialty is international security and European diplomatic history centering on NATO, Germany, and nuclear strategy including nuclear sharing.

Mr. Karlis Eihenbaums - Latvia

Mr. Kristaps Briedis - Latvia

Prof. Baatarbileg Nachin - Mongolia

Professor in Forestry, Dr of Forestry. Research area: Climate change influence on Forest ecosystem, Climate history of Mongolia over 2000 year, Tree planting, Forest grazing

Dr. Ganbat Enkhbayar - Mongolia

I have been working at Permafrost Department in the Institute of Geography and Geoecology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences since 2006. I obtained my Ph.D degree from the Hokkaido University, Japan in March 2017. My scientific interests are climate change, permafrost degradation, carbon cycle, GHG, thermokarst lake, ecosystem, mapping, engineering permafrost.

Ms. Khishigjargal Enkhbayar - Mongolia

Khishigjargal Enkhbayar is the co-founder of the UN Association of Mongolia. She is also supporting the establishment of the Northeast Asian Youth Climate Council as a consultant with UNDPPA.

Dr. Saruulzaya Adiya - Mongolia

I have been working at Permafrost Department in the Institute of Geography and Geoecology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences since 2006. I obtained my Ph.D degree from the Hokkaido University, Japan in March 2017. My scientific interests are climate change, permafrost degradation, carbon cycle, GHG, thermokarst lake, ecosystem, mapping, engineering permafrost.

Mr. Roderick Wols - Netherlands

Minister Plenipotentiary, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Beijing. Previously posted amongst others as Deputy Head of Mission and Head Economy, in Brasilia, Brazil, and as Consul-General in Osaka, Japan.

Mr. Nasser Mohamed Khalifa Al Busaidi - Oman

1987: Appointed in the Diwan of Royal court 1997: Appointed in Royal protocol 2015: Joined the protocol department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2016: Director of the protocol department 2019: Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the People’s Republic of China

Mr. Abdulla Maktoom Ali Al Mandhari - Oman

Counsellor

Ms. Carla Camille Palma-Solis - Philippines

Political Assistant and Attaché

Mr. Jaime Florcruz - Philippines

His Excellency Jaime A. FlorCruz is the Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the People’s Republic of China, Mongolia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). He was a journalist for over four decades, serving as Beijing bureau chief for Time Magazine and later for CNN. He covered many pivotal events in the region, including the democratic transition in Mongolia, the SARS outbreak, and the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2000, he was the first non-American selected as the Edward R. Murrow Press Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Ambassador FlorCruz has also contributed to academia as a lecturer at the Peking University School of Journalism and Communication and at the University of the Philippines Asian Center. He is the author of The Class of ’77: How My Classmates Changed China, a memoir of this China journey.

Mr. Aleksandr Vorontsov - Russia

Alexander Vorontsov Ph.D. (History) is currently the head of the Department for Korean and Mongolian Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russia Academy of Sciences. He also holds post as Russian Military Science Academy Professor. He repeatedly takes part at the “track 1.5" and "track 2" conferences dealing with the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and East Asia. He was visiting professor at the Hanguk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul from 1998 to 2000; at the Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan in 2009, 2012 and 2020; at the Akita International University, Japan in 2015, member of faculty of Yonsei University International Summer School in Seoul in 2010; visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies in Washington D.C. in 2005-2006, graduated from Asia Pacific-Center for Security Studies Executive Courses in Honolulu in 2005. Vorontsov served as second secretary in the Russian Federation’s Embassy in Pyongyang from 2000 to 2002. Vorontsov holds a Ph.D. in history from the Institute of Oriental Studies at the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences. He was the member of the Russian part of the Russia-DPRK, Russia-ROK Intergovernmental Commission dealing with trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation and associate professor at the MGIMO University Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia from 2012 to 2022. Vorontsov has studied at Lomonosov Moscow State University and Pyongyang Kim Il Sung University.

Mr. Alexander Zheleznyakov - Russia

Dr.Sc. (Political Science), Head — Chief Research Fellow at the Sector for Mongolian Studies, Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ICCA RAS)

Mr. Evgenii Rumiantsev - Russia

Evgenii Rumiantsev is a senior expert at RISS, Phd in Philology. His research area includes various aspects of politics in the East Asia region with a special focus on China.

Mr. Ivan Bazhenov - Russia

Mr. Ivan Bazhenov is a leading expert in the field of energy at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISS). He has been working at RISS for nine years. His research addresses a wide range of topics associated with regional energy security agenda, particularly concerning gas and electric power industries.

Ms. Iuliia Kushpeleva - Russia

Yulia is the Chief Financial Officer and Head of Strategy at Alta Strategies, a boutique consultancy specializing in strategic advisory and business transformation. With offices in Paris and Bangkok, Alta Strategies serves international clients across sectors, providing tailored, high-impact solutions. she brings has 18 years of comprehensive finance experience, including more than 12 years specifically in treasury. Her expertise lies in building robust financial infrastructures from the ground up, supporting organisational growth and resilience. Her professional journey has involved close collaboration with teams and stakeholders across Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Europe, and Asia.

Mr. Kirill Babaev - Russia

Prof. Dr. Babaev serves as Director of the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ICCA RAS) since 2021 and he is considered a leading expert on the Asia-Pacific region. He chairs the Russian National Committee of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) and is the Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the Scientific Council of the BRICS National Research Committee. In 2023, he was elected President of the National Coordination Center for International Business Cooperation (NCC IBC). His experience spans both academic and business sectors, and he also occupies the position of First Vice-President of the Alfa Group Consortium. He graduated from Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) in 2000. He also holds degrees in Financial Management, Public Administration, History of Arts, and Oriental Studies. Holding a PhD in Philology (2008), a Doctor of Sciences in Philology (2013), he is also Professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.

Mr. Sviatoslav Nikiforov - Russia

Ph.D. (Law), Ph.D. (Pedagogical Sciences), Senior Researcher at the Sector for Mongolian Studies, Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ICCA RAS)

Mr. Adrian Ang - Singapore

Research Fellow and Coordinator of United States Programme

Ms. Sarah Soh - Singapore

Sarah Soh is an Associate Research Fellow with the Regional Security Architecture Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Sarah had worked for the Ministry of Education and the National Heritage Board prior to joining RSIS. She graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Arts in History. She also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Education from the National Institute of Education, Singapore, and a Master of Science in International Relations from RSIS. Her research interests include Singapore and geopolitics in the Asia-Pacific, security architecture in the Asia-Pacific, and Japanese defence and foreign policies.

Prof. Beom Shik Shin - South Korea

Professor, Seoul National University

Ms. Ijun Kim - South Korea

Ijun Kim is an advocate for the Youth, Peace, and Security agenda, often working with UN DPPA to promote youth leadership in peacebuilding for Northeast Asia. She is also a Youth Foresight Research Consultant at UNICEF Innocenti, engaging children and young people around the world on future-oriented topics to inform policy and decision-making.

Mr. Giwoong Jung - South Korea

Giwoong Jung is an HK professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, specializing in international negotiation, Korean unification, and sports diplomacy. He is Vice President of the Korean Political Science Association and the 21st Century Political Science Association, with a Ph.D. on US-DPRK negotiations using two-level game theory.

Mr. Jong Jin - South Korea

Senior Fellows, Institute for Peace and Unification

Ms. Sang-jung Byun - South Korea

Dr. Sang-jung Byun is the Director of the Department of North Korean Studies at the Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS), South Korea. She currently holds positions as a member of the Review Committee on National Defense Policy at the Ministry of National Defense and the Central Senior Civil Servant Recruitment Committee under the Ministry of Personnel Management. She has served on the Policy Advisory Board for the Ministry of National Defense and the Presidential Policy Advisory Board.

Mr. Taeyoung Jin - South Korea

Taeyoung Jin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy Engineering at Jeonbuk National University, South Korea. He holds a Ph.D. in Earth Resources and Environmental Engineering from Hanyang University, where his research focused on resource economics. His current research interests include energy system modeling and electricity market design, with a particular emphasis on energy efficiency, carbon efficiency, and the macroeconomic pathways of greenhouse gas reduction and economic growth based on resource and energy utilization. Currently, he is working on a project aimed at improving the cost-effectiveness of the electricity sector and advancing carbon-free energy utilization in South Korea’s wholesale electricity market.

Mr. Yuri Shin - South Korea

I am a researcher at Yonsei University, IBS Center for Nanomedicine, interested in climate, peace and security.

Mr. Tuna Erkılıç - Turkey

Graduated from Economics at TOBB Economy and Technology University in 2011. I am working in The General Secretariat of National Security Council of Turkey as an expert since 2014. My working area is energy security.

Mr. Hasan Güney - Turkey

I graduated from TOBB University of Economics and Technology, Department of International Relations in 2016. In 2019, I started working at The Secretariat-General of The National Security Council. I have been working as an expert at The Secretariat-General of The National Security Council since 2019. My areas of expertise are climate change, food security and water security.

Mr. Petro Klymyshyn - Ukraine

Colonel Petro KLYMYSHYN Defence Attaché to the Embassy of Ukraine in the PRC (since September 2020) and Mongolia with a residence in Beijing (since January 2021) Master degree in Operational art, National Defence Academy of Ukraine (2008) PhD in Political science, National Defence University of Ukraine (2014) Languages: Ukrainian (mother tongue), English and Russian (fluent), Chinese (able to communicate) Married with two kids.

Ms. Dessislava Roussanova - United Kingdom

Dessislava Roussanova is a Senior Adviser at Inter Mediate. She has worked on dialogue initiatives since 2000 in multiple conflict-affected regions in Eastern Europe, the Former Soviet Union, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. She is a founding member of Inter Mediate and since the establishment of the organisation, together with Jonathan Powell, she has led the organization’s work in advising or facilitating political dialogues and peace negotiations in countries in Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. In recent years, she has also worked as a political adviser in UN mediation missions. Before joining Inter Mediate, she has spent over 10 years facilitating dialogue initiatives and programs at International Alert. Previously, she worked in the office of the Prime Minister of Bulgaria (under the United Democratic Forces government), in public affairs, and in journalism at Channel 1 of the Bulgarian National Television.

Ms. Georgia McMillan - United Kingdom

1st Secretary Political British Embassy Pyongyang

Mr. Simon Wood - United Kingdom

UK career diplomat. Previously posted to Japan (twice), Denmark, Brazil.

Ms. Bridget Lines - United States of America

Bridget Lines is the Deputy Director in the Office of Korean and Mongolian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Bridget has previously served overseas in Shenyang, Kabul, Islamabad, Beijing, and Djibouti. Her domestic assignments include staff assistant to the Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, DPRK desk officer, and bilateral unit chief on the China desk. Bridget is from Fort Worth, Texas and holds a bachelor’s degree in international politics from Georgetown University.

Prof. David Wright - United States of America

Prof. David Curtis Wright is a specialist in Chinese and Mongolian history at the University of Calgary. He earned his PhD in East Asian Studies from Princeton in 1993. This is his fourth trip to Mongolia.

Ms. Jenny Town - United States of America

Jenny Town is a Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center and the Director of Stimson’s Korea Program and 38 North. Her areas of expertise include North Korea, US-DPRK relations, US-ROK alliance relations and extended deterrence, and Northeast Asia regional security. She was named one of Worth Magazine’s “Groundbreakers 2020: 50 Women Changing the World” and one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business in 2019 for her role in co-founding and managing 38 North, which provides policy and technical analysis on North Korea. Ms. Town is also an Associate Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), a Member of the National Committee on North Korea, and an Associate Member of the Council of Korean Americans. She serves on the Editorial Board for Inkstick, an online foreign policy journal for emerging scholars. She previously served as the Assistant Director of the US-Korea Institute at SAIS (2008-2018) and an expert reviewer for North and South Korea for Freedom House’s Freedom in the World Index (2010-2023), where she previously worked on the Human Rights in North Korea Project.

Mr. Matthew Wittenstein - United States of America

Matthew Wittenstein is Chief of the Energy Connectivity Section at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP). In his role, Matthew supports member State efforts to leverage power system connectivity to improve the sustainability and security of their energy systems, and efforts to develop secure and sustainable value chains for energy transition technologies. Recent work includes capacity building for energy regulators and utilities in South-East Asia, an assessment of the potential to develop a green power corridor in North-East Asia, and a roadmap for establishing a regional electricity market in Central and Southwest Asia. Prior to joining ESCAP, Matthew was a Senior Electricity Analyst at the International Energy Agency (IEA), where he focused on the economics of generation, the challenges of encouraging investment in clean energy technologies, and electricity market design. From 2011 to 2014, he was a Fellow at the US Department of Energy. Matthew holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University, with a concentration in international economic policy.

Mr. Azamat Sulimanov - Uzbekistan

Azamat Sulimanov - since 2024 is the head of department of the Institute of Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Previously worked as a leading researcher at the Institute of Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan (2021-2024). He holds a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from Kazan Federal University and a Master's degree in International Relations from St. Petersburg State University.

Mr. Bakhromjon Sotiboldiev - Uzbekistan

Mr. Javlon Vakhabov - Uzbekistan

Javlon Vakhabov is a Managing Director of the IICA, previously served as the Ambassador of Uzbekistan to the USA, Brazil and Canada.

Mr. Kadambay Sultanov - Uzbekistan

Currently Chief Research Fellow in the IICA Previously Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Sweden.

Mr. Kakhramon Allaberganov - Uzbekistan

Currently works as the Chief Resaerch Fellow in the IICA. Previously: Head of Dvision ISRS

Mr. Rovshan Aminov - Uzbekistan

Second Secretary of the Embassy of Uzbekistan

Mr. Cu Xuan Vu - Vietnam

Researcher, specialized in researching the non-traditional security threats as well cyber crime and preventing the criminal using the advancement of technology.

Mr. Dinh Dinh Cuong - Vietnam

Specialized in developing and implementing research programs related to International affairs such a great powers combination make almost issue the relationship neighboring countries

Dr. Nguyen Minh Sang - Vietnam

PhD of international law specialized in non traditional threat also study and carrying strategy forecast for the worst situation and international affairs to advise the minister in the formation and implementation of the ministry policy or national security protection.