On 25 February 2014 H.E. Mr. Sihasak  Phuangketkeow, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, received Ms. Shamshad Akhtar, newly appointed Under-Secretary-General of the UN and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, as she paid a courtesy call on the occasion of the assumption of her office on 1 February 2014. The Permanent Secretary also hosted a luncheon in her honour.  Also in attendance were Mr. Manasvi Srisodapol, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ms. Pornprapai Ganjanarintr, Director-General of the Department of International Organizations, and Ms. Kanchana Patarachoke, Director of the Policy and Planning Office.

The Executive Secretary of ESCAP expressed her appreciation for Thailand’s constructive and active role at the UN and in the region. The two sides discussed various issues related to cooperation between ESCAP and the Royal Thai Government, in particular the promotion of H.M. the King’s sufficiency economy philosophy in international fora. Both sides also discussed the role of Thailand in the shaping of a Post-2015 Development Agenda after co-organizing last August the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Dialogue: From the Millennium Development Goals to the United Nations Development Agenda beyond 2015. 

Other issues discussed were the role of ESCAP in promoting regional connectivity; the ESCAP Multi-donor Trust Fund for Tsunami, Disaster and Climate Preparedness in Indian Ocean and Southeast Asian Countries; climate change; and upcoming ESCAP meetings, such as the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development, ESCAP’s 70th Commission Session and the outreach event for sustainable financing for development.

Prior to the assumption of her current position, Ms. Akhtar was Assistant Secretary-General in charge of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and Senior Adviser on Economic Development and Finance to the Secretary-General. An experienced economist, Ms. Akhtar was the first and only female Governor of the Central Bank of Pakistan and worked for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nations Sherpa of the Group of 20 (G20). In 2008, she was nominated by the Asian Wall Street Journal as one of the “top ten professional women of Asia” in her capacity as Pakistan’s Central Bank Governor.