Newly appointed UNICEF Representative in Turkmenistan meets country’s President

UNICEF’s newly appointed Representative in Turkmenistan Ms. Christine Weigand presented her credentials to the President of Turkmenistan, His Excellency Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

The President congratulated Ms. Weigand on her appointment and wished a fulfilling mission in Turkmenistan. He highlighted the longstanding trusted partnership between the Government of Turkmenistan and UNICEF in a number of areas, including mother and child health, education, and child protection.

Ms. Weigand thanked the leader of the country for keeping children’s issues high on the agenda of the Government. Ms. Weigand also appreciated the Government’s adoption of the National Plan of Action for the Realization of the Rights of the Child for 2018-2022, as well as sustainable financing of the state immunization programme.

She also shared the ongoing work with the Ministry of Finance and Economy, as well as the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry on further improving state budget financing for achieving the national targets set out in the State Programme for Socioeconomic Development, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals. Finally, she shared with the Head of State that this year the world marks the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Turkmenistan will celebrate the 25th anniversary since the country’s adoption of the Convention. Ms. Weigand expressed hope that the President of Turkmenistan will be among the first Heads of State who will reconfirm the Government’s commitment to child rights on this occasion.

"I am confident that your appointment to the high and important post as the UNICEF Head of the Office in Turkmenistan will give a new impetus to further development of relations between Turkmenistan and the United Nations,” said the President of Turkmenistan in his welcoming letter addressed to Christine Weigand.

President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov invited Ms. Weigand to continue building on the effective partnership between the Government and UNICEF, and besides ongoing joint programmes suggested prioritizing maternal and child health, education, protection and care, as well as access to clean water. He also highlighted Turkmenistan’s readiness to extend support to children beyond the nation’s borders.

For the last three years Ms. Christine Weigand served as Deputy Representative at the UNICEF Office in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Ms. Weigand joined UNICEF in 2012 as Chief Social Policy and Evaluation in Madagascar. Prior to joining UNICEF, Ms. Weigand worked with the KfW Entwicklungsbank, the German development bank, and the World Bank. Ms. Weigand, a national of Austria, holds a Master’s degree in International Economic Studies from Maastricht University, Netherlands. She is fluent in English, French, Spanish, and German.