Dr. Ratnakar Adhikari is currently the Executive Director of the Enhanced Integrated Framework Executive Secretariat at the World Trade Organization. Prior to this assignment, he was the Chief Executive Director of South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), a Kathmandu-based regional think tank. Previously he served, among others, as a Senior Adviser to the National Planning Commission, Government of Nepal, and Trade Programme Specialist for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Asia Pacific Regional Centre in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He also worked as a Manager of Nepal Indosuez Bank Ltd. and a Lecturer at the Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, besides working as a consultant for various multilateral organizations.

Dr. Adhikari has conducted extensive research in the areas of international trade, regional economic integration, development assistance, competition policy, and intellectual property rights, particularly from the perspective of least developed countries. He has (co)-authored/(co)-edited eight books and contributed several articles/chapters in peer reviewed publications. He has also contributed more than 170 short articles/columns in national and international popular media.