Introduction

Dr Puspa Sharma has about 19 years of experience in policy research on trade and development issues and has provided expert services to the government of Nepal and several international organisations such as the Asian Development Bank, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and United Nations Office of the High Representative for Least-Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.

Dr Sharma was an expert member of the teams that prepared the Nepal Trade Integration Strategy 2023 and Nepal’s Trade Logistics Development Policy 2022 for the government of Nepal. From 2009 to 2021, he worked at the South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), a think tank based in Kathmandu, in various capacities, latest as its Executive Director. He was also the Editor-in-Chief of SAWTEE’s flagship publication Trade Insight. He is a member of the International Advisory Network of the Forum on Trade, Environment & the SDGs, an initiative of The Graduate Institute, Geneva, and a member of the Standing Group on Food Policy and Governance, European Consortium of Political Research.

Dr Sharma has published articles in esteemed peer-reviewed journals such as Agriculture and Human Values, Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, and Globalizations. He has also authored, reviewed and edited books, book chapters, working papers, research reports, policy briefs, briefing papers and articles on trade, least developed countries graduation, landlocked developing countries’ concerns, agriculture and food systems, regional integration, paperless trade, and other development issues focusing Nepal and South Asia.

Dr Sharma holds a PhD in Public Policy from the Australian National University, which he earned as an Australia Awards scholar. He earned his M.A. Degree in Global Finance, Trade and Economic Integration from the University of Denver, Colorado, as a Fulbright student. He also holds an M.A. Degree in Economics from the Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu.

Areas of Interest and Expertise

• Regional and Sub-regional Cooperation (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, Bangladesh Bhutan India Nepal, and Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation)
• Trade and Trade Facilitation
• Agriculture and Food Systems
• Intellectual Property
• Least Developed Countries and Landlocked Developing Countries
• Green Growth