Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Sept. 20
By Huseyn Hasanov– Trend:
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has announced the appointment of Natalia Gherman of Moldova as his new special representative and head of the United Nations Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), according to the UN press release published on its website.
The UNRCCA is a special political mission of the United Nations Organization established in 2007 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan upon the initiative of the five Central Asian states. The role of the Center is to identify and address existing and potential threats to regional stability. In addition, the Center facilitates partnerships between the governments of Central Asia in cooperation with regional and international organizations.
Natalia Gherman of Moldova, the newly appointed head of the UNRCCA, brings 25 years of experience in diplomacy, having served in various high-level government positions in her native country.
Most recently from 2013 until 2016, Gherman was minister of foreign affairs and European integration of Moldova while concurrently serving as deputy prime minister and temporarily as the acting prime minister in 2015.
Earlier in her career, Gherman served as ambassador to Austria and permanent representative to the United Nations agencies in Vienna and to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and established the diplomatic presence of her country in the Nordic region, having served as first resident Moldovan ambassador to Sweden, Norway and Finland.