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Senior Qatari diplomat named UN humanitarian envoy

Xinhua, December 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced on Thursday the appointment of Ahmed Al Meraikhi of Qatar as his humanitarian envoy.

Al Meraikhi "will succeed Abdullah al Matouq of Kuwait, to whom the secretary-general is grateful for his dedicated service to the organization," Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, said at a daily news briefing here.

The secretary-general looks forward to Al Meraikhi working closely with Stephen O'Brien, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, to build stronger partnership in Qatar, the Gulf Cooperation Council region and beyond, he said.

"The humanitarian envoy will ensure stronger linkages between the United Nations and decision makers in Qatar and the broader region," he said. "His overall objective will focus on supporting multilateral humanitarian response efforts by raising the profile of humanitarian crises with governments and non-governmental organizations, and increasing their engagement with the international humanitarian community."

Al Meraikhi is a veteran diplomat at Qatarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 2010 to 2016, he was director for the International Development Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and director-general for the Qatar Development Fund.

He studied in the United Kingdom where he obtained his master's degree from Sheffield Hallam University, followed by a doctorate. Endit