MEA Dialogue 2

Ibrahim Thiaw was appointed as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in February 2019.

From 2013 to 2018, he served as Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of UNEP, where he played a key role in shaping the organization's strategic vision and mandate and strengthening collaborations with Governments and other stakeholders.
 
Before joining the United Nations, he was the Acting Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Mr. Thiaw started his career in Mauritania, his home country, serving in the Ministry of Rural Development for 10 years. He holds an advanced degree in forestry and forest product techniques.

Osvaldo Alvarez–Perez has extensive experience in international policymaking and environmental governance, specifically in the chemicals and hazardous waste field. He has held several leadership roles in various international conventions and conferences. 

Mr Alvarez-Perez has also previously served as President of the Basel Convention COP-15, President of the Rotterdam Convention COP-9, President of the Stockholm Convention COP-6. 

He began his work in the chemicals and hazardous waste sector in 2006 when the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Department for the Environment) appointed him as the Officer-in-charge of Chemicals and Waste Conventions.

H.E Dr. Leila Benali was appointed by His Majesty King Mohammed VI on 7 October 2021 as Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development. In 2019, she was also appointed as a member of the Special Commission on the Development Model (SCDM) mandated to re-think the Kingdom’s development trajectory.   

Dr. Benali has a background in industry, banking and public policy and is a graduate of Ecole Mohammadia d’Ingenieurs (EMI) Rabat and Ecole Centrale Paris. She also holds a MSc in political science and a PhD in Economics Summa Cum Laude from Sciences Po Paris.

Dr. Benali has expertise in the formulation of energy reforms and policies, corporate strategies, and strategic investments and acquisitions for public and private stakeholders. 

- Technical Coordinator of the Congo Basin Climate Commission;

- President of the Bureau of COP 13 for the Abidjan Convention and President of COP 3  of the Bamako Convention

With over fifteen years of experience in the Mexican Federal Government, Ms. Zepeda currently serves as Director General for Global Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in charge of advancing Mexico's position in multilateral forums on transversal issues such as: global governance; environment and natural resources; climate change and the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.   

She is Mexico´s Chief Negotiator for most Multilateral Environmental Agreements and was appointed Head of the Mexican Delegation for the UNFCCC COP28 in United Arab Emirates, as well as at COP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Canada in 2022. 

H.E Abdukhakimov is the Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate change of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Prior to his appointment, he has served in several portfolios including as Chief Economist at the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, Head of Macro-Economic Development Department at the Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan and Chairman of State Committee for State Property Management of Uzbekistan. 

He has also served as Minister of Labour and Social Protection of Uzbekistan and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, overseeing Tourism, Sports, Culture, Media, Education and Healthcare sectors. 

Dr. David Cooper is the Acting Executive Secretary of the CBD Secretariat since 2023. Prior to this appointment, David had been the Deputy Executive Secretary at the CBD Secretariat since October 2015.

David has more than 30 years of experience in environmental and agricultural science and policy, and international negotiations, including more than 20 years with the CBD. As Secretary of the fifteenth meeting of the CBD COP 15, held in Kunming, China (in October 2021) and in Montreal, Canada (in December 2022), David was instrumental in facilitating the complex pathway that led to the successful finalisation and adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Sanda Ojiambo of Kenya was appointed Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations Global Compact by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in April 2022.  She previously served as CEO & Executive Director of the Global Compact as of June 2020.

Ms. Ojiambo has over 20 years’ experience in the public, multilateral and private sectors including as Head of Sustainable Business and Social Impact, Safaricom Plc in Kenya, capacity development work in CARE International and UNDP Somalia.

Ms. Ojiambo holds a M.A. in Public Policy from the University of Minnesota, USA, and a B.A. in Economics and International Development from McGill University, Canada.

Haoliang Xu was appointed UN Under-Secretary-General and UNDP Associate Administrator by the United Nations Secretary-General in June 2023.

He previously served as UN Assistant Secretary-General, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director of Bureau for Policy and Programme Support and was UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Assistant Administrator and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific from September 2013 to July 2019.

Prior to this, he served as Deputy Regional Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States in New York (2010-2013); UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Kazakhstan (2007-2010); Country Director in Pakistan (2005-2007); Deputy Resident Representative for Programme, Pakistan (2004-2005); Country Manager and Senior Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Timor-Leste (2002-2004); Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Iran (2000-2002); Programme Manager, Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, New York (1997-1999); Programme Officer/Junior Professional Officer, UNDP Kazakhstan (1995-1997).

Before joining the UN, Mr. Xu was a computer-aided design engineer with Louis Berger International Inc. in New Jersey and an assistant lecturer at Tongji University in Shanghai, China.

Mr. Xu, a Chinese national, holds a Bachelors in Engineering from Tongji University (China), and a Masters’ of Science in Management from the Stevens Institute of Technology (USA). He also holds a Masters’ of International Affairs in Economic Development and Policy Analysis from Columbia University (USA).