The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, José Graziano da Silva, has appointed Ms Kundhavi Kadiresan to the post of Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific.

Kadiresan, an Indian national, has more than 25 years of senior managerial experience in economic and policy development.She holds a Ph.D in Economics and an MBA in International Business. 

With a focus on delivering high-quality value-for-money services to member countries, Kadiresan, an economist, has spent most of her professional career with the World Bank Group. She has worked in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America, where she led senior-level policy dialogues and managed large loan portfolios. 

With extensive experience in both developed and developing countries, Kadiresan brings a strategic perspective and pragmatic approach to the developmental challenges facing the world. She has engaged with Heads of State, senior government officials, parliamentarians, policy makers, community leaders, civil society organizations, development partners, private sector and citizens. Her strong track record of working with policy makers, in programme development and resource mobilization has resulted in the implementation of projects leading to improvements in agriculture, health and nutrition, energy, transport, water, sanitation and social protection.

As FAO’s Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific, Kadiresan’s primary objectives are to advocate FAO’s policies throughout the region, support the coordination and monitoring of regional events, knowledge and information exchange and the further development of regional norms and standards. This includes joint UN approaches on policy and regulatory frameworks, collaborative capacity development of FAO constituents, resource mobilization and aid coordination. 

Based in Bangkok, Thailand, at the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Kadiresan will lead the prioritization of FAO’s work across the region in close consultation with technical specialists in the Organization and in partnership with relevant regional organizations. 

Kadiresan replaces Hiroyuki Konuma who retired from FAO earlier this year.