Formerly a lead negotiator for Australia at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, including for the Paris Agreement negotiations, Purdie is an experienced policy advisor at the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. She has expertise in climate change and development finance and is currently working on blended finance initiatives, including co-managing the Australian Government’s Emerging Markets Impact Investment Fund (EMIIF).

Mr. Aryal is a Country Programme Officer in Nepal since 2007. Prior to this position, Mr. Aryal entered into the development field as a Banker, for about a decade, in managing agricultural credit in a national development bank. Afterwards, Mr. Aryal  worked with a number of UN and other development agencies (such as GiZ, Unicef, FINNIDA) active in Nepal for about a decade. Before joining to the development field in 1987, Mr. Aryal worked as a school teacher for about a decade in remote rural Nepal. Mr. Aryal holds a Master’s Degree specialized in Development Administration.

Paul is Senior Advisor, Innovation at Grow Asia, a multi-stakeholder partnership platform that catalyzes action on inclusive agricultural development in South East Asia. Grow Asia was established by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with the ASEAN Secretariat.