The newly appointed Resident Coordinator of the United Nations, Ms. Mia Seppo presented her credentials to the Foreign Minister A H Mahmood Ali, MP today at State Guest House ‘Padma’. She handed over a letter from Secretary General Mr. Antonio Guterres, thereby officially entering into her new role by succeeding Mr. Robert Watkins.

Foreign Minister welcomed Ms. Seppo to Bangladesh and expressed deep appreciation for long-standing cooperation between Government of Bangladesh and the UN in diverse fields ranging from development, women empowerment, peace, security and human rights.

Minister Ali discussed the ongoing Rohingya crisis. He thanked UN bodies for standing beside Bangladesh with humanitarian assistance and also appreciated the recent statement of the UN Security Council on this issue. Foreign Minister shared various initiatives of the Government of prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the field of primary education, women empowerment and public health. He thanked UN for its support for meeting the targets of Sustainable Development Goals and expects that this support will continue not only in development sector but also in the areas of disaster management, peace and security.

Ms. Seppo thanked the government for the warm reception given to her. She lauded the Government for its stellar performance in poverty reduction and women empowerment, and pledged to work closely with government in all its development efforts particularly to fulfill the targets of Sustainable Development Goals as well as towards graduation to the middle income country.

Ms. Mia Seppo, who was born in Finland, has been working with the UN for 16 years serving in both Headquarters and field level. Her prior assignments include UN Resident Coordinator of Malawi and UNDP Country Director of Sierra Leone.