Dear Members,

It is a great honour to be elected as the UNWA President. I have been associated with the UN for over 20 years, and with UNWA since 1994, when I was President in Nepal. My journey from Katmandu to Islamabad to Dhaka has been a fulfilling one.

The UNWA strength is our members – and our diversity of cultures and experiences. And we can use this strength in helping each other to adjust to life in Bangladesh. At the same time, we can make useful contributions to supporting the poor, who are about half of the population here.

Bangladesh is a dynamic country with a great deal happening. The work in turn here is very challenging, but also hold the possibility of seeing the results of our work. I came to Bangladesh about a year ago, and the culture here is quite familiar to me, being from South Asia myself. I hope that this close link will help me both to understand the problems of women and children here, and to promote UNWA’s work.

I would like to thank the outgoing UNWA officers, who did a wonderful job, despite changes in the team during the year. And a special to thanks to Liti Lissner for her time and professional expertise in developing the UNWA website.

I would also like to thank the members for expressing their confidence in my ability to do this job. I look forward to the coming year in making the activities of UNWA more meaningful and successful. We have a great new team motivated and ready to do their best.

And we are looking forward to the cooperation of all members in this coming year. I am open to all suggestions and constructive advice.

Looking forward to an interesting and rewarding year ahead,