Shamshad Akhtar, who took office on 9 July 2012, told DESA News that the Department “has a very important role to play in this post 2015 agenda… by nurturing partnership with various players or developing institutional arrangements to coordinate this work.” She also underscored the need to mobilize sustainable financing for developing countries, and for innovative approaches to financing green growth, due to its costly nature.
August 2012: The latest issue of “DESA News,” the newsletter of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), features an interview with incoming UN Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development at DESA, Shamshad Akhtar, who took office on 9 July 2012. She said DESA “has a very important role to play in this post 2015 agenda… by nurturing partnership with various players or developing institutional arrangements to coordinate this work.”
Akhtar underscored the need to mobilize sustainable financing for developing countries, and for innovative approaches to financing green growth, due to the costly nature of some green growth propositions.
The issue also highlights the upcoming Second Session of the UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (GGIM), which will address, inter alia, implications of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), and the development of a knowledge base for geospatial information.
The newsletter also announces two high-level departures. Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, completed his term at the end of July 2012. Sha served as head of DESA, Convenor of the Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs (ECESA) and Secretary-General for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, Rio+20). Sha is succeeded by Wu Hongbo of China.
Jomo Kwame Sundaram’s term as Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development at DESA concluded on 30 June 2012. He had led the UN system response to the 2005 Summit; coordinated budget reform to enhance human and other financial resources for the UN Secretariat’s development work; served on the Stiglitz Commission of Experts on Reforms of the International Monetary and Financial System; and contributed to efforts to articulate a post-2015 UN Development Agenda. [Publication: DESA News, Vol. 16, No. 8] [IISD RS Story on Appointment of New USG, ASG for DESA]