Matt Murray was appointed as the U.S. Senior Official for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in February 2022. In this role, he coordinates U.S. participation in APEC and also oversees the Office of Economic Policy in the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

Prior to his current assignment, Matt led the State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs (EB) as Senior Bureau Official from August 2021 to January 2022, and he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Trade Policy and Negotiations from September 2020 to August 2021.

Matt has focused on U.S. economic engagement with the Asia Pacific region throughout his State Department career, including as Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, Counselor for Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Canberra, and Special Assistant for East Asian and Pacific issues in the Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment.

Matt is a Senior Foreign Service Officer who also has served overseas in Beijing, Shanghai, Dar es Salaam and New Delhi and in Washington, D.C. as Director of the 24/7 Watch in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. He has master’s degrees from the U.S. Army War College and the University of Pittsburgh and a bachelor’s degree from Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland.

Vimala Murugan is the Senior Director of Regional & International Relations of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Malaysia.

She joined MITI in 1996 after graduating from the University of Malaya with BA (Hons.). She has also completed her Postgraduate Degree in Business Administration (Strategic Management) from the University of Technology Malaysia.

During her service in MITI, she has served in both the International Trade and Industry Wings, including being posted twice to MITI overseas offices in Manila, the Philippines and Malaysian Mission to the European Union, in Brussels, Belgium.