DUSHANBE, February 3, 2016, Asia-Plus — United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, will pay a working visit to Tajikistan from February 4-5.
According to the Tajik MFA information department, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar is scheduled to hold talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and some other high-ranking Tajik state officials to discuss cooperation between ESCAP and Tajikistan.
Dr. Shamshad Akhtar Detho is a Pakistani development economist, diplomat and intellectual who serves as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, an office equivalent to the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. Prior to that, she served as the as the 14th Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan being the first woman to assume this position.
She initially worked at the World Bank’s Resident Mission in Pakistan for a decade before moving to the Asian Development Bank where she served as the Director General Southeast Asia Department. She was also appointed as the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Senior Adviser on Economic Development and Finance to the UN Secretary General. Prior to that, in 2009-2011, she was Vice President at the World Bank overseeing Middle East and North African region. In addition, she serves as the United Nations Sherpa for the G20.
