UN Secretary-General thanks Mourad Wahba of Egypt for 30 years of service

CAIRO – 18 February 2021: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres General expressed his gratitude and appreciation to Mourad Wahba of Egypt for his commitment as Assistant Administrator of the of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and for his 30-year service in the United Nations.

Wahba was Director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for the Arab States. He was appointed to this position by the Secretary-General of the United Nations in November of 2016 and assumed duties on 1 February 2017.

Most recently, he served as the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Haiti.  Prior to this, he served as Deputy Director and Deputy Assistant Administrator in the Regional Bureau of Arab States, UNDP, in New York (2013-2015); Director, Security Office, UNDP Bureau of Management, New York (2009-2013); UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative (2006-2009) in Morocco; Director, United Nations Affairs, UNDP New York (2001-2006); and Deputy Resident Representative in Guyana (1999-2001).

António Guterres also appointed Usha Rao-Monari of India as Associate Administrator of the UNDP, according to a statement from the United Nations on Wednesday.

 He also wishes to extend his appreciation to Tegegnework Gettu of Ethiopia for his long-standing career at the United Nations and for his significant contributions to the development agenda as UNDP’s Associate Administrator.

As Senior Adviser to Blackstone’s Infrastructure Group, Ms. Rao-Monari is an investment professional with almost 30 years of investment experience, particularly in the infrastructure area.  She previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Global Water Development Partners, a Blackstone portfolio company, and held several senior positions, notably as Director of the Sustainable Business Advisory Group at the International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group.  She currently serves on the boards of a number of organizations in the field of sustainable development and has held a number of Board and advisory positions in the areas of water, natural capital, biodiversity and environment.

She holds a master’s degree in international affairs and finance, School of International and Public Affairs/School of Business, Columbia University, New York; a master’s degree in management studies, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management, Mumbai, India; and a Bachelor of Arts Honours in economics, Delhi University, New Delhi.