1. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) appointed former Ambassador of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations Oh Joon (current chair of the board of Save the Children Korea) as member of the Eminent Persons Advisory Group for repositioning of ESCAP.

o Former Ambassador Oh Joon will attend the first meeting of the Advisory Group, to be held in Bangkok, the Kingdom of Thailand, from January 8 to 9, 2019.

2. The Advisory Group is expected to advise new Executive Secretary of ESCAP Alisjahbana (who took office on November 1, 2018) on ways of better alignment of ESCAP’s programs to implement the 2030 agenda for sustainable development; repositioning of the secretariat; and ways to increase cooperation with member states.

o The Advisory Group consists of seven former Asian high-level officials of international organizations*, and will work for one year in 2019.

* Supachai Panitchpakdi (Thailand, Former Secretary-General of UNCTAD), Rashid Alimov (Tajikistan, Former Ambassador to the UN), Vijay Nambiar (India, Former Ambassador to the UN), Noeleen Heyzer (Singapore, Former Executive Secretary of ESCAP), Andie Fong Toy (Fiji, Former Deputy Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat), and Anis Chowdhury (Bangladesh, Former Director of ESCAP)

3. The appointment of former Ambassador to the UN Oh Joon as member of the Advisory Group is expected to help increase the ROK’s contributions to the international community’s key agendas, including development, and contribute to strengthening cooperation between the ROK and ESCAP.

* unofficial translation