Melvin Spreij serves as a Senior Trade Specialist at the World Bank Group, working on trade facilitation and standards compliance issues through analysis and operational support. He also contributes to the World Bank’s next World Development Report on “Standards for Development”. Before this role, he led the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF), a global partnership to strengthen sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) capacity in developing countries. Housed at the WTO, he managed STDF’s trust fund, supporting more than 250 projects in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean. He also led STDF’s knowledge hub, partnering with global organizations, development partners and beneficiaries to address good regulatory practices, international standards, and public private partnerships. Melvin has widespread expertise on agriculture, trade and development issues, working previously as Counsellor in WTO’s Agriculture Division and the FAO Legal Office. He started his career as a commercial lawyer in The Netherlands and holds a civil and business law degree from the State University in Leiden, The Netherlands. He also studied briefly at the University of California in San Francisco, United States. He has published works covering Aid for Trade, sustainable development, food safety and natural resources law.