Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – 20 April 2017: The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, has welcomed the appointment of Mr. Achim Steiner as the new Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The appointment of Mr. Achim Steiner was confirmed on 19 April 2017, by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, following his nomination by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. He takes over from Ms. Helen Clark, who served in that position since 2009, in two successive four-year terms.

The AU Commission Chairperson congratulates Mr. Achim Steiner on his appointment and looks forward to a continued collaboration between the AU Commission and UNDP. H.E Moussa Faki Mahamat took the opportunity to pay tribute to Ms. Helen Clark for her dedicated and committed services to development issues in the world, and to Africa in particular.

Mr. Achim Steiner is former UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); and also former Director-General of the UN Office at Nairobi, amongst others. He is quite conversant with Africa’s interests, opportunities and challenges.

The AU Commission stands ready to cooperate with the new UNDP Administrator in fulfilling the mandate and objectives of both the AU and UNDP, in line with Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals, Agenda 2030.