DUSHANBE, June 15, 2016, Asia-Plus — Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations also Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (RBEC) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ms. Ayse Cihan Sultanoglu, visited Tajikistan from June 12 to June 14.
UNDP Tajikistan says that during her visit Ms. Sultanoglu, together with Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Aslov opened the High-Level Experts Meeting on Finding Development Solutions to Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) and the UN Information Resource Center (IRC) at the Tajik–Russian Slavonic University (RTSU) in Dushanbe.
The UN Information Resource Center (IRC) was opened on June 13 and the opening ceremony was attended by the heads of UN agencies active in Tajikistan, representatives of diplomatic corps, civil society, young people and the media.
The UN IRC is well equipped to provide the access to the information about the UN in general, its activities in Tajikistan and other relevant topics. The library of the UN IRC contains more than 6000 copies of the literature in the main UN languages and also provides access to all digital resources of major UN entities.
The UN IRC will seek to increase the awareness about the United Nations, its agencies, funds and programs presented in Tajikistan and the global agenda of the UN, including the SDGs. The Center will host events, open lectures, thematic meetings and relevant events with heads of UN agencies in Tajikistan, visiting UN and national experts.
The Center will provide an opportunity for students to become better acquainted with the activities of UN agencies, the approaches in resolving global issues of human development, population issues, eradication of poverty, hunger, inequality between countries, provision of health care, employment, climate change and environmental protection, and more.
“This unique center will be a useful platform for all residents, especially school children, students, journalists, experts and scientists who are interested in the UN. Hopefully, UN IRC will gradually become one of the most useful and comfortable places for all interested and play a crucial role in the informational sphere of Tajikistan,” said Ms. Cihan Sultanoglu.
While in Dushanbe, UNDP RBEC director also met with high-level government officials Mr. Qohir Rasoulzoda, Prime Minister of Tajikistan, Mr. Sirojiddin Aslov, Foreign Minister of Tajikistan, and Nematullo Hikmatullozoda, Minister of Economic Development and Trade.
Ms. Ayse Cihan Sultanoglu (Turkey) is the Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations; and Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (RBEC) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). She was appointed to this position by the UN Secretary-General in April 2012.
The Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (RBEC) administers the UNDPs programs in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), playing an important role in the transition process through empowering people, organizations and governments to promote sustainable human development.
Working under a mandate issued by the UN Secretary-General, RBEC began the process of establishing offices and programs in the CIS states in 1992. Today, of the 30 program countries in the RBEC region, there are UNDP country offices in 23 of them: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
