JP van der Merwe is the Trade Commissioner for Mining, Oil & Gas at the Johannesburg Trade Office of the Canadian High Commission to South Africa.
JP has previously worked for the New Zealand High Commission in South Africa as a political and economic policy advisor and before that spent 7 years in economic development consulting, delivering trade and economic analysis on projects across Southern Africa. He also worked on projects in the mining sector focused on sustainability, regulatory change and political risk mitigation.
JP holds a Masters in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Sydney, as well as an honours degree in International Relations and a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics – both from the University of Cape Town.