Assistant Secretary-General of the Structural Economic Transformation and Trade – Jamaican National Mr. Lodge is the Assistant-Secretary-General for Structural Economic Transformation and Trade at the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States. He is a Jamaican national with 30 years of professional work, primarily on trade and development policies of poor, small and vulnerable OACPS countries. His professional experience spans multinational (DDA), hemispheric (FTAA), bi-regional (EPA and post-Cotonou), and national trade negotiations (bananas). Mr. Lodge has worked on private sector development during his tenure as Director of Trade and Investment at JAMPRO, and Executive Director of JAMCO – a London-based, Government of Jamaica-owned limited liability company that represented the commercial and lobbying interests of Jamaican banana exporters. His expertise also extends to design and management of trade-related technical assistance garnered through his leadership of the ACP MTS and TBT Programmes. Mr. Lodge has published widely, most notably, as co-editor of CARIFORUM-EU EPA – A Practitioners’ Analysis, and more recently, The Promise of a Recalibrated Caribbean-EU Partnership (co-authored with Dr. Jan Yves Remy). He completed post-graduate studies in Monetary Economics at Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies at UWI Mona, and International Trade Policy Research at the Institute of World Economics in Kiel, Germany.

Assistant Secretary-General of the Environment and Climate Action Department – Citizen of the Republic of Fiji ASG Pratt brings thirty years’ experience in policy and practice to the OACPS, and has worked in both the public and private sectors as well as at national and multi-lateral levels. She served as Director General/CEO of the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC). Ms. Pratt has also served various other regional and international organisations, providing strategic policy and technical advice on climate change, risk resilience and ocean governance. Immediately prior to her appointment, Ms Pratt served as the Deputy Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), located in Suva, Fiji. As chief advisor and deputy to the PIF Secretary General, she was able to support the realisation of a reformed, prioritised regionalism agenda under the Framework for Pacific Regionalism and development of a strategic narrative for the Blue Pacific Continent.

Assistant Secretary General of Macroeconomics, Development Finance and Programming – Citizen of the Republic of Chad. Trained as an economist/financier, Ms. Banata Tchale Sow has more than 25 years of professional experience in the field of economics and finance in general, ranging from consulting to administrative governance, with particular expertise in development projects. She has held senior positions in public administration and has proven experience in the field of civil society. In addition, she has been actively involved in the development and implementation of national, regional and international policies and strategies. Prior to her appointment at the OACPS Secretariat, Ms. Sow served as Director of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Chad. She has also held several senior positions, including Minister of Microcredit for the Promotion of Women and Youth, Secretary of State for Finance and Budget, and Secretary of State for Infrastructure and Opening Up. A former educator, Ms. Sow also has considerable experience in investment and rural development.

Deputy Secretary General in charge of the Department of Political Affairs and Human Development – Citizen of the Republic of Madagascar. A diplomat by profession, Dr. Norbert Richard Ibrahim studied at the Law Faculties of Antananarivo, Paris XI and Aix-en-Provence. He is also a graduate of the Diplomatic Section of the International Institute of Public Administration in Paris (IIAP). He has held key positions in the Malagasy Ministry of Foreign Affairs, notably dealing with the African Union, the United Nations, the European Union and the Francophonie. In Madagascar, he was designated as the UN focal point for counter-terrorism and participated in political crisis resolution processes in the region. He has also contributed to various initiatives aimed at developing regional cooperation and integration in Africa. As Minister Counselor and Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the Embassy of Madagascar in Brussels from 2005 to 2020, he was an active member of the Drafting Committee of the revised Georgetown Agreement. He also actively participated in the work of the Group of Francophone Ambassadors in Brussels, particularly during the Malagasy Presidency of the Francophonie Summit and took part in the negotiations of the new OACPS-EU Partnership Agreement.

Assistant Secretary-General of the Administration, Finance and Human Resources Department – Citizen of The Gambia. A highly-driven professional with over 15 years of experience in top-tier management, and more than 25 years working in human resource management, public finance and administration, Mrs. Auber Faal rose steadily through the ranks of the Government of The Gambia at the Personnel Management Office, Ministries of Foreign Affairs, and Finance and Economic Affairs, to hold such positions as Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President and Secretary to Cabinet. In the Public Service, Mrs. Auber Faal had a stint at the Gambia Civil Aviation Authority, lastly occupying the position of Director of Human Resources and Administration. Prior to her appointment at the OACPS, she was employed as Deputy Director-General at The Gambia’s National Petroleum Corporation.