Shamika N. Sirimanne currently serves as the Director of the Division on Technology and Logistics at UNCTAD, where she oversees the organization’s trade logistics program.

Her responsibilities include leading initiatives on trade facilitation, maritime transport, port management, and e-commerce and digital economy. She also supervises ASYCUDA, UNCTAD’s largest technical cooperation program focused on the Automated System for Customs.

Ms. Sirimanne brings extensive experience in development policy, research, and technical cooperation from various international organizations, national governments, think tanks, and universities.

Prior to joining UNCTAD, she held the position of Director of the ICT and Disaster Risk Reduction Division at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

During her tenure at ESCAP, she spearheaded regional cooperation programs such as the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway initiative and the Regional Drought Monitoring Mechanism. She also led ESCAP’s trade facilitation program and oversaw macroeconomic policy work and the flagship publication, Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific.

Before her time at ESCAP, she worked at the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), where she led the economic policy team and contributed to the Economic Report on Africa. Her career also includes positions at the Canadian Ministry of Finance and the World Bank.

She holds a PhD in Economics, underscoring her strong academic background in addition to her practical experience in economic development and policy formulation across various regions and sectors.

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