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Professor Khorana is an international trade expert with over 25 years of academic, government and management consulting experience. She worked as a civil servant in the Indian government from 1993 to 2001. In 2022, she served a short-term secondment with the UK Department for Business and Trade.

She leads research on international trade policy, including free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations and World Trade Organization (WTO) issues and has advised EU institutions on FTA negotiations with India and Vietnam as well as developed methodologies for procurement liberalisation through FTA negotiations.

She is on several expert committees providing specialist advice including membership of the Expert Trade Advisory Group (Government Procurement), Department for Business and Trade in the UK. She is an Advisor on Gender and Trade to the Commonwealth Businesswomen’s Network in London and serves on Foreign Investment Committee of the PHD Chambers of Commerce and Industry, India.

Professor Khorana has undertaken funded research for the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), British High Commission India, Welsh Assembly, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, European Commission, World Bank, among others.

She advises industry sectors and has provided testimony to Parliaments. Examples include on the UK-India FTA to the UK House of Lords (2022), Brexit Committee (2020), the ‘UK Trade Bill’ to the Scottish Parliament (2018) and on EU-India FTA negotiations to the European Parliament (2008).

International Trade

International Trade Policy

World Trade Organization

FTA Negotiations

Sustainable and Inclusive Supply Chains

Technology in International Trade

Procurement Reform

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Professor of International Trade Policy

  Professor Sangeeta Khorana, professor of international trade policy at Aston University, has been made a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences
Fellows are elected for their contributions to social science, including in economic development, human rights and welfare reform
The 2025 cohort of 63 Fellows will join a 1,700-strong Fellowship with members from academia, the public, private and third sectors.

Professor Sangeeta Khorana, professor of international trade policy at Aston University, has been made a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences as part of the Autumn 2025 cohort.

The 63 new Fellows have been elected from 39 UK organisations, comprising 29 higher education institutions, as well as think tanks, non-profits, business, and from countries beyond the UK including Australia and China. The Academy of Social Science’s Fellowship comprises 1,700 leading social scientists from academia, the public, private and third sectors. Selection is through an independent peer review which recognises their excellence and impact.

Professor Khorana has more than 25 years of academic, government and management consulting experience in international trade. She has worked for the Indian government as a civil servant and on secondment to the UK Department for Business and Trade. Her expertise includes free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations and World Trade Organization (WTO) issues. As well as sitting on various expert committees, Professor Khorana is an advisor on gender and trade to the Commonwealth Businesswomen’s Network in London and serves on Foreign Investment Committee of the PHD Chambers of Commerce and Industry, India.

The Autumn 2025 cohort of Fellows have expertise in a range of areas including educational inequalities, place-based economic development, human rights protection, the regulation of new technologies, and welfare reform, highlighting the importance, breadth and relevance of the social sciences to tackling the varied challenges facing society today. As well as excellence in research and professional applications of social science, the new Fellows have also made significant contributions beyond the academy, including to industry, policy and higher education. 

Professor Khorana said:

“I am deeply honoured to be elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. This recognition underscores not only the importance of international trade policy as a driver of inclusive and sustainable growth, but also the role of social sciences in shaping fairer and more resilient societies. At Aston University, my research seeks to bridge academia, government and industry to inform evidence-based trade policy for global cooperation. I am proud to contribute to the Academy’s mission of demonstrating how social science knowledge and practice can address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.”

President of the Academy, Will Hutton FAcSS, said:

“It’s a pleasure to welcome these 63 leading social scientists to the Academy’s Fellowship. Their research and practical applications have made substantial contributions to social science and wider society in a range of areas from international trade policy and inclusive planning systems through to innovative entrepreneurship and governing digital technologies. We look forward to working with them to promote further the vital role the social sciences play in all areas of our lives.”


Professor Sangeeta Khorana made a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

In 2020, the Commonwealth represented 8.7% of UK trade, with British exports worth £56.3bn (source: House of Commons Library). With post-Brexit trade agreements in place or being negotiated with several Commonwealth markets - including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and India - the importance of the association to UK exporters is only likely to grow.

On 23 June 2022, the Institute of Export & International Trade (IOE&IT) hosted a free webinar focusing on opportunities for British businesses in Commonwealth markets and the support available for grasping them.

A panel of global trade experts and leading officials addressed your queries about doing business in the Commonwealth.

The panel included:

- Paul McComb - director of UK exports at the Department for International Trade
- Dr Salamat Ali - economic adviser and trade economist at the Commonwealth Secretariat
- Professor Sangeeta Khorana - professor of economics at Bournemouth University and chair of the IOE&IT Academic Board

Opportunities for UK exporters in the Commonwealth

Public Procurement Law: International & Regional Development

(2012) Dr Sangeeta Khorana, Lecturer in Economics - Aberystwyth University

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