The new advisers are Dr Reuben Abraham from India, Ms Helianti Hilman from Indonesia, Ms Adaljiza Magno from Timor Leste, Mr Senaka Silva from Sri Lanka and Ms Annie Wu Suk-Ching from Hong Kong.
The Foundation's honorary advisers are individuals who hold key positions in business, academia, community or other sectors that are relevant to the Foundation’s mandate of ‘equipping New Zealanders to thrive in Asia’.
“The Asia New Zealand Foundation honorary advisers from Asia bring a wealth of expertise and experience for us to draw from in our various initiatives," says Foundation executive director Simon Draper.
"We welcome five new honorary advisers from Asia with whom we can engage closely especially in their respective countries,”
As the preeminent non-profit institution in New Zealand dealing with Asian issues, the appointment of respected, thought leaders in their fields with close relationship with New Zealand as honorary advisers is an important contribution to the Foundation’s work.
“I look forward to the Foundation engaging with the newly appointed Asia honorary advisers and drawing on their wisdom in helping the Foundation achieve its mandate,” says Mr Draper.
Honorary adviser appointments are for five years and are made by the New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The new honorary advisers from Asia are:
- Dr Reuben Abraham, CEO and Senior Fellow at IDFC Institute in New Delhi, a think-tank focused on state-capacity and political economy issues.
- Ms Helianti Hilman, Founder and CEO of Javara, a social enterprise focused on sustaining Indonesia’s food biodiversity heritage.
- Ms Adaljiza Magno, former Ambassador to Singapore and former Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs for Timor Leste.
- Mr Senaka Silva, New Zealand honorary consul for Sri Lanka and entrepreneur.
- Ms Annie Wu Suk-Ching, Hong Kong entrepreneur, honorary chairman Beijing Air Catering Co.