Damian brings over 20 years of experience in public policy, government relations and strategic advisory across Asia and the Middle East. He has been a trusted advisor to senior political leaders, worked closely with ministers and government agencies, and built deep networks across government, business and policy communities.As Regional Director for Southeast Asia at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Damian led multidisciplinary teams providing policy and strategic communications advice to the presidents of Indonesia, the Philippines and Timor-Leste, and the Prime Minister of Vietnam. He worked with national leaders, ministers and implementing agencies on economic development and investment attraction, digital trade and AI governance, energy security, and foreign policy.As Deputy Chief of Staff and Head of Policy to the Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Damian helped shape and manage major defence strategy, policy and procurement decisions through Cabinet, the National Security Committee and budget processes. His work included the Australian Government’s National Defence Statement, the 2023 Defence Strategic Review and Australia’s acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines under AUKUS.Damian has lived and worked in Asia and the Middle East as a diplomat and consultant for over a decade. In the Gulf, he worked with ministers, government agencies and state-owned enterprises on investment implementation, crisis management and strategic partnerships with Asia.He has also held key roles in the Australian foreign service and ministerial offices focused on trade, foreign affairs and economic engagement with Asia and the Gulf Cooperation Council. He drove initiatives to deepen government engagement with business, helped devise and implement Australia’s economic diplomacy policy through embassies in Asia and the Middle East, and led Australia’s bilateral and ASEAN trade agenda at the Australian High Commission in Malaysia.Having been in the room when major decisions are made, Damian understands how governments think, how issues are framed and how policy moves from political intent to implementation. He applies this experience to help businesses, investors and institutions anticipate government priorities, navigate political and regulatory complexity, and align their strategic objectives with government agendas.

Asia Gulf Partners was founded on the belief that the Asia-Gulf corridor represents one of the world’s most significant emerging growth opportunities. It connects the Gulf’s capital, energy resources and ambitious national transformation agendas with Asia’s scale, technology, industrial capability and expanding markets.What makes this corridor distinctive is the central role of government. National development plans, sovereign investment, state-owned enterprises, regulation and political relationships all shape commercial outcomes. Realising the corridor’s potential therefore requires closer alignment between government priorities and the ambitions of businesses, investors and institutions.Our mission is to help organisations across Asia and the Gulf better engage and align with governments to achieve tangible and sustainable outcomes.We provide bespoke, partner-led support—from actionable political and regulatory intelligence that informs operational and investment decisions, to the design and implementation of transformative government engagement strategies that deliver measurable results.

• gulf diversification 2.0: transcending geography

• when markets price peace: the case of hormuz

• beyond hormuz: how emerging Asia can strengthen gulf food security

• can gulf sovereign capital help unlock the asean power grid?

• the Asia gulf corridor is growing through government vision and business ambition

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Experts

• Dr Muhammed Abdul Khalid

• Sameer Anwar

• Steven Derek brown

Dr Muhammed Abdul Khalid is a Malaysian economist and public policy adviser with experience across government, business and academia. He understands how priorities, institutions and markets shape policy and outcomes in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.Muhammed is an Adjunct Professor at the Ungku Aziz Centre, Universiti Malaya, and a Research Fellow at IKMAS, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. He is also a Fellow at the World Inequality Lab, Paris School of Economics, and a Senior Associate at the Malaysian Industry Government Group for High Technology.He chairs Allianz General Insurance Company (Malaysia) Berhad, sits on the Board of Allianz Malaysia Berhad and serves on the Economic Committee of the Malaysia Competition Commission.From 2018 to 2020, Muhammed served as Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister of Malaysia and as a member of the Economic Action Council. He previously headed the secretariat of the Council of Eminent Persons, established after Malaysia’s 2018 election to advise the government on economic and financial policy.Earlier positions include Director of Research at the Khazanah Research Institute, Head of Economics at the Securities Commission Malaysia and Senior Technical Adviser at UNDP Malaysia. He has advised multinational corporations and consulted for the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and United Nations agencies.Muhammed holds a PhD and Master of Public Affairs from Sciences Po Paris, a Master of Economics from Universiti Malaya and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Southern California.Muhammed helps leaders navigate complexity, align strategies with government priorities and translate economic ambition into sustainable outcomes.

Sameer is a senior delivery expert with over 17 years of experience advising governments, Fortune 500 chief executives and philanthropic organisations on strategy and implementation. He has advised more than 30 governments and heads of state across Asia, the Middle East and North America, helping leaders translate priorities into measurable results.At the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and Delivery Associates, Sameer helped advance the theory and application of government delivery units. He led the development of delivery units and large-scale capability building programmes.His experience includes establishing centres of government, setting strategy, improving public service capabilities, leading digital transformation and operationalising delivery mechanisms that strengthen accountability, coordination and problem solving. He has also contributed to initiatives supporting some of the world’s largest education and health reforms.Sameer previously served as Head of the Middle East and South Asia at Delivery Associates and as a Senior Adviser at the Tony Blair Institute. Earlier, as a consultant in Bain & Company’s public sector practice, he advised clients across the Middle East and South Asia.His private sector experience includes serving as Vice President for Strategy, Finance and Data at Trove, a Silicon Valley technology platform. He began his career in investment banking and corporate finance with JPMorgan in New York and KPMG in Toronto.Having worked across government delivery, management consulting, technology and finance, Sameer understands both the institutional and commercial dimensions of execution. He applies this experience to help governments, businesses and institutions establish priorities, build delivery systems and turn strategy into measurable impact.

Steven brings more than 25 years of experience in capital markets, corporate advisory and institutional finance, and is an Australia, Asia and Vietnam specialist. He has advised listed and unlisted companies and investors on capital raising, market entry, mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt structuring, IPO preparation, corporate governance and business growth.Steven has spent over a decade in senior leadership roles in Vietnam’s securities industry. As Director and Head of Institutional Sales and Trading at VPS Securities, Vietnam’s largest brokerage by market share, he reported directly to the Chairman. At Mirae Asset Securities, he was Director and Head of Institutional sales, and held senior management roles at SSI Securities and Viet Capital Securities.Prior to Vietnam, Steven was a client adviser with Citigroup in Australia, where he personally managed more than $500 million in assets, and an analyst and adviser with Bell Potter Securities.He has helped establish UCITS and SIF (EU compliant) investment funds and advised companies on investor relations, roadshows, corporate access and transaction execution. A major market entry project included advising Shinhan (Korea) on its market entry and establishment of securities brokerage operations in Vietnam.Steven serves as Corporate Strategy Adviser to the Board of Queensland Wool, supporting Vietnam and Singapore market entry. His leadership experience includes Vice Chairman roles with the British Chamber of Commerce Vietnam, the Vietnam Independent Directors Association, VinUniversity and the Australia-Vietnam Business Council. He is on the Advisory board of VinUniversity, and is a Professor of Practice in VinUniversity’s MBA programme.Having built relationships across corporations, financial institutions, sovereign investors and global private capital, Steven understands how transactions move from intent to investor engagement and execution. He helps businesses and investors assess opportunities, structure credible propositions, access decision makers and mobilise capital across Vietnam and Asia.

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