Sumathi Balakrishnan is a Senior Director in the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI), Malaysia. She joined the civil service in 2001 and has been involved in international trade matters for almost 25 years. She handled APEC related matters and was appointed to the Malaysian Mission to the WTO in Geneva in 2010. Subsequent to the tenure in Geneva. She has been involved in numerous FTA negotiations such as the TPP; RCEP; CPTPP; EU; IPEF including Chief Negotiator for Malaysia – EFTA, Malaysia – Korea.