UN secretary-general appoints new resident coordinator in Azerbaijan

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Dmitry Shlapachenko as the new resident coordinator of the organization in Azerbaijan.

This is stated in an official UN statement.

According to the statement, Shlapachenko has officially assumed his duties.

The UN emphasized that the new resident coordinator has 28 years of experience in diplomacy, international cooperation, political and socio-economic issues, development coordination, peacekeeping, and strategic planning. Prior to his appointment in Baku, he served as the UN resident coordinator in Turkmenistan.

Previously, within the UN structure, he worked as head of the group for the countries of the Horn of Africa and the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) at the headquarters in New York. In addition, the statement says that Shlapachenko held leadership positions in UN missions in Iraq, Somalia, Tajikistan, and other countries.

The position of resident coordinator is the highest official UN position in the country. The coordinator represents the UN Secretary-General at the national level, leads the work of the entire UN system in the country (including more than 30 specialized agencies, programs, and funds, such as UNDP, UNICEF, WHO, UNESCO, and others), and ensures coordination of UN efforts with the host country.