Dr Hadi Soesastro, founding member of PECC, Executive Director of the Indonesian PECC committee (INCPEC) and international chair of the Pacific Trade and Development Forum (PAFTAD) passed away on 4 May.

Pak Hadi, as he was fondly called by Indonesians and others alike was one of the intellectual founders of regionalism in Southeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific.

Although he made his mark on the world as one of the region’s leading economists, Pak Hadi was a trained engineer, which perhaps explains his ability to construct his arguments and ideas that have stood the test of time. 

His interests in PECC have been broad ranging from trade and investment in the region to climate change. The impact his work had on ASEAN, APEC and PECC is immeasurable. Not only because he was respected by decision-makers he worked with throughout the region but all the more so because of the generation of leaders he inspired and will continue to inspire through his writing. (more...)