Activities of the Executive Secretary
2 July | Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention and its Protocol on PRTRs The Acting Executive Secretary delivered the opening statement of the joint high-level segment. | ![]() |
12 June | Administrative Committee of the TIR Convention The Acting Executive Secretary delivered the opening statement of this extraordinary high-level session of the Administrative Committee. | ![]() |
5 June | 6th Meeting of the Parties to the Espoo Convention The Acting Executive Secretary delivered the opening statement of the high-level segment. | ![]() |
22 May | International Day of Biodiversity The Acting Executive Secretary participated in a “Tree Planting Ceremony” on the grounds of the Palais des Nations. | ![]() |
17-18 March | Meeting of the heads of the Regional Commissions The Executive Secretary participated in the meeting of the heads of the five United Nations regional commissions in Santiago, Chile. The Executive Secretaries reaffirmed their commitment to support and accompany their Member States through the post-2015 development agenda process, already being discussed within different forums. The also held a dialogue with the High-Level Committee on Programmes (HLCP), the policy pillar of the Chiefs Executive Board for Coordination (CEB) of the United Nations, which held its 27th session at ECLAC. | ![]() |
26 February | Meeting with the Minister of Transport of Jordan The Minister of Transport of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Lina Shbeeb, met the Executive Secretary, and addressed the 76th session of the Inland Transport Committee, to call for the global opening of the European Agreement concerning the Work of Crews of Vehicles engaged in International Road Transport (AETR). | ![]() |
25 February | 76th annual session of the Inland Transport Committee The Executive Secretary delivered the opening statement of the policy segment on “Innovations for Sustainable Inland Transport and Mobility”. | ![]() |
After the policy segment, he opened the photo exhibit “E 40 – Image of the Road”. The exhibit depicts a journey along the 8,000 kilometre long E40 European Highway from Calais, France, to Ridder, in northeast Kazakhstan, by Helen Kirwan, Simon Pruciak and Jarek Karpik. | ![]() | |
18-19 February | Visit to Albania The Executive Secretary was on official visit to Albania to discuss further strengthening cooperation between UNECE and Albania in areas of common interest. During his visit he held a series of bilateral meetings with government officials including Environment Minister Lefter Koka, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Edmond Haxhinasto, Industry and Energy Minister Damian Gjiknuri, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ditmir Bushati and Speaker of the Parliament Ilir Meta. | ![]() |
13 February | Compact signing ceremony The UN system’s senior managers gathered around Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday for the annual compact signing ceremony. The Executive Secretary was among the 17 senior managers who were present in New York, while nine were connected by video conference. | ![]() |
10 February | Meeting with the Minister of Economic Development of Tajikistan The Executive Secretary met with Sharif Rakhimzoda, Minister of Economic Development of Tajikistan, to discuss the results of a recent study, conducted by UNECE, on the regulatory and procedural barriers to trade in Tajikistan. The Minister presented the study’s conclusions at the 6th session of the Committee on Trade. | ![]() |
4 February | Workshop on the future of social housing The Executive Secretary delivered the opening address of the workshop “The future of social housing: environmental and social challenges and the way ahead”. Read the speech | ![]() |
14 January | Visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel The Executive Secretary met with Avigdor Liberman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel, at the Palais des Nations on 14 January 2014. Mr Liberman was in Geneva to attend the ceremony marking the admission of Israel as the 21st Member State of CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. | ![]() |
13 January | Meeting with the Permanent Representative of Greece The Executive Secretary met with Ambassador Alexandris to discuss the fruitful cooperation between UNECE and Greece. | ![]() |
5 January | 5 January - Real Estate Roundtable The Executive Secretary was one of the speakers at the conference, “Towards a Sustainable Real Estate Market – Real Estate Registration, Investment, Regulation and Capacity Building” organized by Dubai Real Estate Institute. He presented UNECE’s work in support of housing, land management and real estate markets throughout the Pan-European region. Read more in UNECE Weekly | ![]() |
16 December | End of year celebration with EXCOM EXCOM members and UNECE staff gathered on Monday 15 December at the Palais des Nations at the invitation of the UNECE Executive Secretary and the Chair and Bureau of EXCOM (Ambassador van Schreven, Chair, Ambassadors Winzap and Aydogdyan, Vice Chairs) to celebrate together the end of the year. Read the article in UNECE Weekly | ![]() |
9 December | Metsa2013 and 2nd European Forest Week The Executive Secretary was one of the speakers at the opening of the Joint session of the UNECE Committee on Forests and the Forest Industry and the FAO European Forestry Commission in Rovaniemi, Finland. | ![]() |
2 December | Visit of the Executive Secretary to Azerbaijan The Executive Secretary was in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 1-2 December, to conclude negotiations on the establishment of a Specialist Centre for Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) infrastructure in Baku. This Specialist Centre, which will be affiliated to the UNECE International PPP Centre of Excellence in Geneva, will aim at identifying international PPP best practice models in ICT and act as an international repository for PPP projects in the ICT sector. | ![]() |
In Baku, the Executive Secretary visited BakuTel 2013, the largest International Telecommunications and Information Technologies Exhibition in the Caucasus, with President Ilham Aliyev. He held bilateral meetings with the President and with Elmar Mammadyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Ali Abbasov Minister of Communications and Information Technology of the Republic of Azerbaijan. | ![]() | |
27 November | Meeting with the President of the Eurasian Economic Club of Scientists’ Association Mr. Murat Karimsakov, President of the Eurasian Economic Club of Scientists’ Association presented the Executive Secretary with a diploma conferring the title of “Honorary Professor” from the Eurasian Economic Club of Scientists’ Association.
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20 November | Lecture to the Geneva School of Diplomacy The Executive Secretary was one of the speakers of this lecture organized as part of a course on the United Nations system. He presented a brief history of the organization, before n overview of UNECE’s main activities and current priorities. | |
19 November | Global Round Table on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) The Executive Secretary delivered the opening address at the first Global Round Table on PRTRs, organized under the auspices of UNECE and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in cooperation with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). | ![]() |
6-8 November | Regional consultation on the Post 2015 Development Agenda The Executive Secretary was one of the speakers at the opening session of the Regional Consultation entitled “Inclusive and Sustainable Development: Perspectives from Europe and Central Asia on the Post-2015 Development Agenda”.
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31 October | Dialogue of the Executive Secretaries with the Second Committee The Executive Secretary participated in the Dialogue of the Executive Secretaries with the Second Committee on “Inter‐regional Cooperation: an enabler for the Post‐2015 Development Agenda” in New York.
Read the statement | ![]() |
22 October | Committee on Environmental Policy The Executive Secretary delivered the opening statement at the 19th session of the Committee on Environmental Policy, held from 22 to 25 October at the Palais des Nations. Read the statement | ![]() |
17-18 October | Conference on "Energy Security and Sustainability - the OSCE Perspective" The Executive Secretary delivered a keynote statement in the opening session of the high-level international conference “Energy Security and Sustainability - the OSCE Perspective” organized under the Ukraine chairmanship of OSCE and hosted by Turkmenistan in Ashgabat.
Read the statement | ![]() |
8-9 October | Budapest Water Summit | ![]() |
On the occasion of the summit, he met with Sandor Fazekas, Minister of Rural Development of Hungary to discuss Hungary’s role in transboundary water cooperation. Mr Alkalaj expressed his appreciation for the important role Hungary is playing in the field of water, particularly in transboundary water cooperation. Mr Fazekas explained Hungary’s interest in such work and observed: “Rivers and lakes tie us together, not separate us”. Mr Fazekas also expressed his country’s pride to host the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention in 2015. | ![]() | |
He also met with José Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to discuss strengthening cooperation between the two organizations.
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7 October | World Habitat Day | ![]() |
25 September | Special Event towards achieving the MDGs
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11 September | 21st OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum | ![]() |
10 September | Exhibition of post-disaster housing Read more | ![]() |
10 September | Meeting with the Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO)
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3-6 September | Visit to Turkmenistan Read more. | |
1-2 September | Bled Strategic Forum | ![]() |
26 June | Memorandum of Understanding with the Eurasian Economic Commission The Executive Secretary and Viktor Khristenko, Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between UNECE and EEC at a ceremony in Geneva. The Memorandum aims at strengthening cooperation between the Parties on areas such as customs administration, technical regulations, trade, macroeconomic policy, transport and logistics. Read the Press Release | ![]() |
21 June | Visit to Tajikistan | ![]() |
17 - 18 June | Visit to Kyrgyzstan | ![]() |
10 June | Conference of European Statisticians Read the statement | ![]() |
31 May | 4th Meeting of the Parties to the Sava Framework Agreement The Executive Secretary delivered the opening statement at the meeting, where he stressed that, through its Water Convention, UNECE is helping Sava countries (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia) to collectively adapt to climate change and anticipate flood risks. Read the statement | ![]() |
28 May | Vienna Energy Forum The Executive Secretary spoke at the high-level Panel on Energy in the Post-2015 Agenda stressing that there is no sustainable development without sustainable energy. Some of the key priorities in the UNECE region to be addressed in a post-2015 sustainable development framework include: greening the economy, promoting sustainable energy, and reducing energy poverty through the development of sustainable cities and energy efficient housing. Read the statement. | ![]() |
22-24 May | Astana Economic Forum On this occasion, he held bilateral meetings with Kazakh officials, including President Nursultan Nazarbayev, and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Transport and Communication, Environmental Protection, and Economy and Budget Planning. Watch the photo gallery. | ![]() |
Mr Nikolay Pomoshchnikov, Head of the ESCAP Subregional Office for North and Central Asia with Sven Alkalaj | ![]() | |
Meeting with Mr. Azat Bekturov, Vice-Minister of Transport and Communication of Kazakhstan | ![]() | |
The Executive Secretary delivered speeches at the Astana Economic Forum. http://www.unece.org/press/execsec/execsectoc.html | ![]() | |
15-17 May | Visit to Georgia
Read the article in UNECE Weekly | ![]() |
6 May | Second UN Global Road Safety Week Read the statement | ![]() |
24 April | Meeting with the Permanent Representative of Austria The Executive Secretary and Ambassador Thomas Hajnoczi agreed that the incorporation of the standards elaborated by UNECE’s teams of specialists into national legislation, especially in areas such as trade, transports, environment protection and health, allows members States to improve the national standards and facilitates regional cooperation. The Executive Secretary conveyed his gratitude to the Austrian government for its support to the Trans-European Motorways (TEM) and Trans-European Railways (TER). He invited the Austrian government to consider signing the statements on the Development of Euro-Asian Transport Links and Activities towards a Unified Railway Law, adopted at the Ministerial Meeting on Euro-Asian Transport Links in February 2013. UNECE highly appreciates the contribution of Austrian specialists to its work on trade facilitation and the development of electronic business, as during the 21st UN/CEFACT Forum held from 15-19 April, 2013 in Geneva. The parties expressed their expectations that an agreement to open negotiations on the Framework Convention on Sustainable Housing would be reached at the Ministerial Meeting on Housing and Land Management on 8 October, 2013. Both parties confirmed their desire to continue cooperating closely in the future. | ![]() |
17 April | 7th European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns The Executive Secretary delivered a speech on public service financing at the Mayors’ Session of the 7th European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns. During this event, he met with Sandrine Salerno, Deputy Mayor of the City of Geneva. Read his address. | ![]() |
12 April | General Assembly of the International Road Transport Union Read his statement | ![]() |
9 April | Meeting with the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities The Executive Secretary said that UNECE and OSCE share almost the same membership and stressed the quality of the cooperation between the two institutions. Mr. Halil Yurdakul Yigitgüden said that the joint “Handbook of best practices at Border-Crossings” had been very successful and had triggered interest from various countries outside the region, in particular from Egypt. He said that OSCE will support the project on Euro-Asian transport links and conveyed an invitation to the Executive Secretary to be one of the speakers at the 21st Economic and Environmental Forum, to be held in Prague in September. | ![]() |
9 April | Sixty-fifth session of the Economic Commission for Europe | ![]() |
8 April | Meeting with the Secretary-General of the Eurasian Economic Community
The renewed MoU will be signed by the three parties at the Astana Economic Forum on 22 May 2013. The aim of the MoU is to further strengthen the legal framework for tripartite cooperation based on the principles of transparency, reciprocity and mutual benefit, with a view to achieving sustained growth and sustainable development in the region.
Mr. Mansurov is in Geneva to participate in the 65th session of the Economic Commission for Europe as a keynote speaker. | ![]() |
21 March | Meeting with the Deputy Head of the Federal Forestry Agency of the Russian Federation The Executive Secretary expressed his gratitude for the strong support of the Russian Federation to UNECE’s work on forests, stressing the key role of the Russian Federation, which has the largest forest area in the world.
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21 March | Multi - stakeholder Dialogue on Water in the Post - 2015 Development Agenda The Executive Secretary was one of the speakers of the opening session of the multi stakeholder dialogue on Water in the post-2015 agenda organized in The Hague to present and discuss the results of the global thematic consultation on Water.
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21 March | 1st International Day of Forests
Read his speech | ![]() |
27 February | Post-2015 Development Agenda Consultation on Water The Executive Secretary opened the two-day consultation on water, which scrutinized the role of water and its importance in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, in particular two aspects defined as “Water Resources Management” and “Wastewater Management and Water Quality.” Participants also discussed how water relates to the other 10 themes of the ”World We Want” consultation, such as energy, health and food. | ![]() |
26 February | Photo exhibition “Transport in Motion” The Executive Secretary opened the photo exhibition “Transport in Motion”, organized to mark the 75th Jubilee Session of the Inland Transport Committee. | ![]() |
26 February | Ministerial segment of the Internal Transport Committee
Read the press release | ![]() |
26 February | Meeting with the First Deputy Minister of Tajikistan Read the press release | ![]() |
25 February | Meeting with the Minister of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission On the occasion of his meeting with Mr. Andrey Slepnev, Member of the Board, Minister for Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), the Executive Secretary stressed that UNECE was interested in developing effective cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) with a view to improving economic collaboration in the UNECE region.
He pointed out that the new draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), developed by UNECE and EEC, will broaden the scope of cooperation to cover areas such as trade and transport facilitation, promoting a competitive transport market, developing an innovative economy, facilitating public-private cooperation, improving the exchange of statistical data, etc.
Read the article in UNECE Weekly
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5 February | Session of the Team of Specialists on Public-Private Partnerships | ![]() |
29 January | Meeting with the Permanent Representative of Albania The Executive Secretary mentioned various areas of cooperation in the last years, including progress in the implementation of the Water Convention in Albania, with the second meeting of the Drin Core Group held on 20 November 2012 in Tirana; the second Environmental Performance Review of Albania carried out by UNECE in 2012; and training of Albanian statistical and energy experts by UNECE.
Special mention was made to the progress on establishing a Single Window in Albania, which saw the signature of bilateral agreements with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro on Customs transit data exchange.
Ambassador Kodra expressed her full support to the work of UNECE and stressed the need to keep national institutions informed on progress. She also acknowledged the importance of UNECE’s regional programmes in the Balkans.
Both parties confirmed their desire to continue cooperating closely in the future.
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25 January | Third town hall meeting The Executive Secretary held his third town hall meeting to brief staff on two main issues:
Read the full story in UNECE Weekly | ![]() |
21-22 January | Meeting of UNDP’s resident representatives for Europe & CIS The Executive Secretary participated in the annual Regional Bureau for Europe and Central Asia (RBEC) meeting with UN Resident Representatives in Zagreb.
Discussions focused on the contribution that the region can bring to the follow-up to Rio+20 and consultations on the post-2015 development agenda in the context of inclusive and sustainable development. UNECE and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have been working on an inter-agency report that will provide a pan-European perspective to these discussions and inform the global consultative process, in particular the high-level meeting of the General Assembly in September 2013.
The Executive Secretary also held a bilateral meeting with Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator. He stressed the excellent cooperation between the two organizations and invited UNDP to contribute to the work of the United Nations Special Programme for Economies of Central Asia (SPECA). This could take the form of a sub-regional discussion about the post-2015 development agenda at the 2013 SPECA Economic Forum and joint technical cooperation projects under relevant Project Working Groups. Cooperation among UNECE and UNDP Regional Advisors could be reinforced, to strengthen synergies and coherence in the delivery of regional advisory services in Europe and Central Asia by the UN.
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14-17 January | Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week From 14 to 17 January 2013, the Executive Secretary participates in the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, including the World Future Energy Summit, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) 3rd General Assembly and the International Water Summit. Within the high level segment of the plenary of the IRENA Assembly, the Executive Secretary participated in the Ministerail round table ' Renewable energy costs and benefits' held in Abu Dhabi on 14 January 2013.
The discussions touched upon the broader economic, social, and environmental benefits of renewable energy. The Executive Secretary recalled that renewable energy currently comprises 15% of the global energy mix. In order to meet the objective of the UN Secretary General’s Sustainable Energy for All initiative to double its share by 2030, sustained efforts are required from all actors and stakeholders.
Investments in renewable often are blocked by risks of various sorts, including political and regulatory risks, and there should be a concerted effort to remove the blockages to enable the shift to sustainable energy. UNECE can contribute to the necessary shift by working with IRENA to remove the investment barriers including the establishment of multilateral agreements, normative instruments and standards while promoting innovation.
UNECE will also continue to contribute to the policy dialogue on renewable energy and share best practices on various renewable energy sources, he said. | ![]() |
Ministerial Panel on Building National Frameworks for Renewable Energy during the Abu Dhabi International Renewable Energy Conference, 15 January | ![]() | |
Meeting with the Director-General of IRENA On 16 January, the Executive Secretary met Mr. Adnan Z. Amin, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), to discuss possible ways to strengthen the cooperation between the two organizations. UNECE and IRENA intend to cooperate closely on renewables in the UNECE region but also globally with the other UN Regional Commissions. Joint efforts could result in boosting the development of renewables in the UNECE region, in particular in South-East Europe, where projects could focus on biomass and wood energy. | ![]() |
27-28 November | SPECA Economic Forum and Governing Council Under the theme “Strengthening Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Central Asia by Sharing the Asian Experience”, the 2012 SPECA Economic Forum aimed to learn from the successes and challenges of regional economic integration in similar blocs. These include in particular the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Greater Mekong Subregion, a development project of the Asian Development Bank. Read the press release and statements | ![]() |
26 November | SPECA meetings on Trade and Afghanistan The Executive Secretary opened the meeting which focused on the “Challenges to the development of regional trade and investment” in SPECA countries, and review the progress being made in implementing the Baku Ministerial Declaration on Aid for Trade.
He also delivered the opening statement at the session “Review of Work in the SPECA Framework in Support of Implementation of the Decisions of the Fifth Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan”. | |
23 November | Meeting with the President of the Asian Development Bank The Executive Secretary visited the Asian Development Bank (ADB), where he met President Haruhiko Kuroda to discuss ways to re-launch the cooperation amongst the two institutions. President Kuroda welcomed the proposal to strengthen cooperation and suggested that concrete projects for cooperation should first be identified at the expert level during the coming months. | |
22 November | Signature of MoU establishing Specialist Public-Private Partnership Centre on Health in the Philippines Sven Alkalaj and Dr. Enrique T. Ona, Secretary of Health of the Republic of the Philippines, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishing the Specialist Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) Centre on Health in the Philippines. An official signing ceremony took place in Manila at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI), where the office of the Specialist Centre is located. Read the Press Release. | ![]() |
7 November | Meeting with the Permanent Representative of Luxembourg The Executive Secretary expressed high appreciation for the excellent cooperation with Luxembourg in the area of environment. Luxembourg is one of the very few countries which is a Party to all UNECE multilateral environmental agreements, except for the Protocol on Civil Liability. | ![]() |
25 October | Launch of the UNECE Trade Facilitation Implementation Guide The Executive Secretary launched the UNECE Trade Facilitation Implementation Guide. This is a web-based interactive tool designed to help countries simplify cross-border trade. Trade facilitation has become a key policy issue for both governments and business as it helps cut the costs of doing trade, reduce delays at the border, and make public agencies dealing with trade more efficient. It is at the heart of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round negotiations.
Read the press release
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24 October | Regional Coordination Meeting The Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, chaired the annual formal meeting of the Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM) for the UNECE region on 24 October in Geneva. The RCM, convened by the UNECE Executive Secretary, brings together regional directors of UN agencies, funds and programmes to address issues of high priority on the UN development agenda that call for policy coherence at the regional level and require interagency cooperation. Eighteen agencies participated in the meeting.
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17 October | Meeting with the Permanent Representative of Israel The Executive Secretary thanked Israel for its active participation in the work of UNECE and for its support, stressing in particular its very effective and constructive role as EXCOM bureau member. | ![]() |
9 October | Visit of the President of Turkmenistan
The Executive Secretary met with the President of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, on the occasion of his visit to the United Nations Office in Geneva.
Read the article in UNECE Weekly | ![]() |
4 October | Meeting with the Permanent Representative of Belgium
The Executive Secretary thanked the Government of Belgium for its active participation and continuous support to the work of UNECE, in particular to environmental activities and its leadership in the Meeting of the Parties to the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register Protocol (PRTR). He also expressed appreciation for Belgium’s support to transport activities and the appointment of a Transport Attaché in the Belgian Permanent Mission in Geneva.
Ambassador de Crombrugghe expressed high appreciation of the experience and leadership that Mr. Alkalaj brought to the organization. He acknowledged UNECE’s achievements, especially in the fields of Transport, Statistics, Forestry and Timber. He stated the Commission has set norms and developed very important regional policies.
Mr. Alkalaj briefed the Ambassador on the UNECE’s most recent activities and informed him about the outcomes of the Ministerial Conference on Aging in Vienna and the status of ratification of the amendment to UNECE’s Water Convention. | ![]() |
2 October | Second Town Hall meeting The Executive Secretary convened a Town Hall meeting to brief staff on 4 issues: · Secretary-General’s 2012 Retreat · Proposed Programme Budget 2014-2015 · Status of the review of the 2005 UNECE reform · UNECE Staff Elections Read the full story in UNECE Weekly | ![]() |
1 October | Opening of the exhibition “Building the Future We Want” on the occasion of World Habitat Day Read more here. | ![]() |
28 September | Meeting with the Deputy Permanent Representative of Germany
The Executive Secretary thanked Germany for its longstanding and generous contributions to a wide range of UNECE’s activities. He also thanked Germany for its active role in the work of several intergovernmental and subsidiary bodies of UNECE. | |
19 September | Sven Alkalaj delivering opening Statement at the UNECE during Ministerial Conference on Ageing in Vienna.
Speeches of the Execuitve Secretary during the conference. | ![]() |
11 July | Sven Alkalaj swears in as new Executive Secretary of UNECE. | ![]() |
18-22 June | UNECE at Rio+20
* Access to information and public participation in decision-making * Transboundary water * Sustainable forest management * Sustainable housing/real estate markets
During the week, the Executive Secretary held a number of high-level bilateral meetings with heads of State and government, and ministers to discuss further cooperation in UNECE’s areas of work. Turning to the future, the Executive Secretary briefed the Geneva press corps on the outcome of the Conference from UNECE’s perspective upon his return from Rio on Monday 25 June. According to the Executive Secretary, the outcome document contains a range of important provisions that recognize the role and contributions of the UN Regional Commissions to sustainable development and the green economy and invites them to play an active role in the follow-up, both at the regional level and across regions. | ![]() |
8 June | Townhall meeting
The Executive Secretary hosted his first Townhall meeting exactly two months after taking his duties to introduce himself to all staff members and share his first impressions. In his first remarks, he said that UNECE “has an important place and even a leading role among regional organizations and the UN system as a whole” and stressed “how UNECE’s programmes of work and products have a real and practical impact on people’s lives”. Read the full story in UNECE Weekly | ![]() |
23 May | Meeting with the Minister of Health of the Philippines
The Executive Secretary met with Dr. Enrique T. Ona, Minister of Health of the Philippines, to discuss strengthening cooperation in the area of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). The Government of the Philippines plans to make the most of the potential that PPPs offer to modernize the country‘s health sector. In this regard, close cooperation has been developed over the last years with UNECE’s PPP programme, to build up capacity and share best practices. Read the full story in UNECE Weekly | ![]() |
10 May | Meeting with the Permanent Representative of Germany
Mr. Schumacher, Ambassador of Germany, said that Germany’s priorities amongst UNECE’s activities are within the Environment and Transport sectors. He also showed special interest in the UNECE water convention. Germany is among the promoters of the BLUE group in Geneva, which works on enlarging access to safe drinking water. He expressed appreciation for the very good cooperation with UNECE in the field of Statistics and assured the Executive Secretary of his country’s support to all UNECE activities, and especially in the context of the review of the reform. | ![]() |
8 May | Meeting with the UN Resident Coordinator & UNDP Resident Representative
Mr. Zouev, UN Resident Coordinator & UNDP Resident Representative in Tajikistan, thanked Mr Alkalaj for the highly appreciated UNECE assistance to the preparation of the fifth Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA), held in Dushanbe on 26-27 March 2012.
He stressed that collaboration with UNECE was extremely important for Tajikistan, in the fields related to water management, trade integration, statistics, transport and other issues covered by SPECA, in view of the difficult economic, political and social situation in the country and more generally in the region , including security and peace concerns.
Tajikistan will be part of two initiatives at the Rio + 20 Conference: it is one of the 10 pilot countries for the Sustainable Energy for All initiative; and it participates in the global integrated water management initiative.
Finally, Mr Zouev invited Mr. Alkalaj to visit Tajikistan on the occasion of the launch of the new five-year national development strategy in November 2012. | ![]() |
3 May | Meeting with the Permanent Representative of Lithuania
Mr. Rytis Paulauskas, Ambassador of Lithuania, said that his country is actively participating in a number of UNECE activities, including the Working Group on Ageing, which is preparing for the Ministerial Conference on Ageing that will take place in September 2012 in Vienna. Lithuania is also an active participant in the UNECE administered Trans-European Railways (TER) and Trans-European Motorways (TEM) projects, and in the Committee on Housing and Land Management. | ![]() |
25 April | UNECE workshop on water and adaptation to climate change in transboundary basins | ![]() |
24 April | Meeting with the Permanent Representative of Turkey
Mr. Alkalaj thanked Mr. Oguz Demiralp, Ambassador of Turkey, for Turkey’s support and engagement in many UNECE activities, in particular in the field of Transport. | ![]() |
17 - 20 April | 50th meeting of EXCOM and bilateral meetings | ![]() |