New UN chief in Nepal assumes office

The newly appointed Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator of the United Nations System's Operational Activities for Development in Nepal and the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Robert Piper joined his office in Kathmandu on Tuesday.

Piper called on Minister for Foreign Affairs Sahana Pradhan today to present the Letter of Credentials. He had arrived in Kathmandu on Monday.

Prior to coming to Nepal he was the UNDP Director of the Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund and Senior Advisor on UN Reform in New York.

Beginning his career at AusAID, Piper has assumed positions of increasing importance in a number of countries and UNDP headquarters including Thailand, Cambodia, and Fiji.

From 2005 to 2006, Piper worked on the Tsunami Recovery process serving as Chief of Staff to the UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, former US President Bill Clinton.

He also worked as UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Serbia, Kosovo, from March 2002 to July 2004.

"I feel privileged to be taking up this assignment at such a historic time. Perhaps more than ever in our 40-year history in Nepal, the UN's development and humanitarian organizations has a critical role to play in lending our expertise, energies and resources to the government and people of Nepal. Peace and development are the two sides of the same coin," he said taking over the charge of Nepal.

Piper, an Australian national, is a political science graduate and a Yale University World Fellow 2004.

Mathew Kahane, left Kathmandu in February after completing his tenure here. nepalnews.com ia Mar 11 08