Dr. Buavanh Vilavong is the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOIC) of Laos. Since joining the ministry in 2000, he has held key leadership positions, including Director General of the Department of Industry and Handicraft, Deputy Director General of the Department of Import and Export, and Director of the Foreign Trade Policy Department. Notably, Dr. Buavanh was a core negotiator in Laos' accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Alessandro is currently part of the team of the chief economist for East Asia and Pacific at the World Bank. His research interests include international economics, macroeconomics, and finance. His research articles have been published in journals such as the American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, the Journal of International Economics, and the Journal of Financial Economics. He is part of the core team in charge of the East Asia and Pacific biannual economic update, and he co-led the World Bank report Services Unbound (2024). He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Boston College, a Ph.D.