United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Lila Pieters Yahia of Canada as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Nepal, with the host Government's approval. She took up her post on 1 February.

Ms. Pieters Yahia brings over 25 years of experience in public service across diverse country contexts. She most recently served as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Mauritania after working as Resident Coordinator ad interim in Armenia, Equatorial Guinea and Tunisia. In these roles, she has led United Nations country teams in supporting nationally defined development priorities, strengthening system-wide coherence and advancing strategic partnerships to accelerate progress across the Sustainable Development Goals.

Prior to joining the United Nations Secretariat in 2020, Ms. Pieters Yahia held senior leadership roles with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), including Country Representative in Tunisia, Deputy Director of the Brussels Office and Deputy Country Representative in Türkiye. She also served in various leadership capacities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Bangladesh, contributing to efforts to strengthen national systems and advance results for children and their families.

Ms. Pieters Yahia holds a master's degree in economics from the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom.

She is a proud mother of two young men.

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* This supersedes Press Release SG/A/2160 of 10 November 2022.