United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Wednesday announced the appointment of Haoliang Xu of China as Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Bureau of Policy and Programme Support, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

According to the press release, Xu succeeded Abdoulaye Mar Dieye of Senegal, who the Secretary-General has appointed as Assistant Secretary-General and Special Adviser to the UNDP Administrator.

Xu has served as the Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Asia and Pacific, UNDP, since 2013. As the release said, he has over 25 years of experience in international development, having joined UNDP in 1994 and worked in various field and headquarters assignments in Asia-Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, including New York, Iran, Timor-Leste, Pakistan and Kazakhstan.

Before joining the United Nations, Xu worked in the field of civil engineering in China and the United States. He holds a bachelor's degree in Bridge Engineering from Tongji University, a Masters degree in Management Science from the Stevens Institute of Technology and a Masters degree in International Affairs from Columbia University, the release said.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)