Tan Sri Datuk Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta. Maria is a Board Member of IDEAS.

Tan Sri Rebecca served as Secretary General of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) from 2010 to 2016. In this role, she oversaw the formulation and implementation of Malaysia’s international trade policies and negotiating positions. This included Malaysia’s participation in bilateral, regional (ASEAN, APEC and the OIC), and multilateral forums such as the World Trade Organization (WTO). She also oversaw the negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and other bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs), including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

At the regional level, Tan Sri Rebecca is a leading voice in ASEAN. She chaired the ASEAN Senior Economic Officials Meeting (SEOM) and the ASEAN High-Level Task Force on Economic Integration. She also served as ASEAN Chair for the ASEAN–India Trade in Goods Agreement and was the Chief Negotiator for Malaysia’s bilateral free trade agreements with India and Türkiye.