FAO Representative in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan since July 2020 
Mr Assaf, a national of Lebanon, holds a bachelor’s degree in forestry, a master’s degree in Ecology/Natural Resources Management from the National School of Forestry Engineering, Salé, Morocco and a Master of Research in Forest Systems and Products from the University of Lleida, Spain. In 2008. 
He started his career in 1997 as Site Manager for European Union, the French National Office of Forests and the Ministry of Agriculture of Lebanon, for the project “Assistance to the Green Cover Protection in Lebanon”. From 1999 to 2005. From 2000 to 2003, he was Head of the Forestry, Soil and Water Department at the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI), Beirut, Lebanon. From 2003 to 2010, he acted as Team Leader/Forestry Officer at the Ministry of Environment, Beirut, Lebanon. From 2007 to 2010, he was also Technical Coordinator-Lebanon for the International Spanish Cooperation Agency and the Forest Technology Center of Cataluña (CTFC), Spain for the project “development of skills and tools for the sustainable management and preservation of forestry resources and revitalization of rural communities in Syria and Lebanon.” From 2007 to 2010, he was also University Teacher for the master’s degree in science and environmental management, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon 
He joined FAO in 2010 as Forestry Officer at the Subregional Office for North Africa (SNE), Tunis, Tunisia.  
From 2011 to June 2020, he was also serving as FAO Representative in Algeria. 

Director, Project Support Division (PSS) 
Mina` Dowlatchahi brings over 30 years of experience in policy, planning, operations as they relate to issues around agrifood systems, data and innovation. 
She is now leading Project Cycle, due diligence and operational modalities. Prior to being appointed as Director of PSS in 2020, Mina’ has served as the FAO Representative in Pakistan, where she has elevated FAO’s presence, impact and visibility overseeing what became the third largest FAO country program, with a diverse and innovative portfolio of projects such as the $49 million project that became FAO’s first in Asia to receive a Green Climate Fund grant.  
Mina` joined FAO in 2000. In 2010, she was designated Chief of the Unit for Field Programme and Results Based Monitoring in the Technical Cooperation Department. She then worked as Deputy Director of Office of Strategy, Planning and Resources Management (2012-2017). Prior to joining FAO, she worked in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Switzerland (1992-2000), and in 1988-1992 as an Economist in the Society for Applied Mathematics and Economics (SOMEA) in Italy. She holds a Master of Science in Economics and Trade from the Sapienza University of Rome in Italy, and started her career as a Research Associate. 

Scientific Coordinator, Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations Organisations in Rome
Manfred Kaufmann is an environmental scientist and holds a PhD on soil science from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. For the last 20 years he has worked at the intersection of agricultural and natural science with policy and practice. He held consecutive programme management and policy advisor positions at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in the sections on water, climate change and food systems and currently represents Switzerland in the System Council of CGIAR. He is passionate about translating research findings into practical and scalable innovations that reach farmers’ fields and consumers plates. 

FAO Country Representative, South Sudan 
Meshack Malo started his career in 2001 as Forestry Extension Officer at the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI). From 2004 to 2007, he worked as Regional Scientific Officer for the Regional Programme for Sustainable Use of Dryland Biodiversity. 
He joined FAO in 2007 as Associate Professional Officer, at the FAO Sub-regional Office for Eastern Africa, Ethiopia where he also served as the focal person to the African Union (AU). In 2011, he was transferred to FAO headquarters as Land and Water Technical Officer. In 2013, was appointed Technical Advisor to FAO’s Deputy Director-General. From 2017 to 2019, he served as Advisor in the Office of the Director-General.  
Dr. Malo, a national of Kenya, holds a PhD in Agronomy, a master’s degree in Dryland Biodiversity and a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies.  

Program Lead ‚FAIR Forward: Artificial Intelligence for All’ GIZ 
Christian Merz is co-leading the BMZ funded program FAIR Forward – Artificial Intelligence for all dealing with the responsible usage of Artificial Intelligence in international cooperation. Being with GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) for more than 5 years he co-coordinated the GIZ Data Lab. Beforehand he has worked within the Agricultural Development Program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as the Senior Program Officer for Digital Solutions. Between 2011 and 2016 he managed SAP’s research program on ICT4D (Information and Communication Technologies for Development) covering agriculture, rural logistics, procurement & retail, financial services etc. He received his Diploma in Physics from the Albert-Ludwigs-University in Freiburg, Germany. 

 

FAO Representative in Colombia 
Agustin Zimmermann was born in Argentina. He holds a degree in Economics from the Universidad Argentina de la Empresa in Buenos Aires, specializing in International Economic Development, and a Master in Economics from the Universidad Torcuato di Tel la, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.  
Mr. Zimmermann has a solid academic background combined with extensive international experience. As a career diplomat, he has had the opportunity to participate in a variety of negotiations related to the agricultural sector. As an international staff member of a UN specialized agency such as FAO, his career began in 2012 when he joined the Office of the Director-General (ODG) in Rome, Italy, as a Special Advisor, and from 2015 to 2019 as a Senior Cabinet Attache in the Office of the Director-General and then as Secretary of the FAO Program Committee.  
From 2019 to 2022, he served as FAO Representative in Ecuador, and in 2022, he held the position of Senior Liaison Officer and Subregional Coordinator for South America at the FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean in Santiago, Chile. He was FAQ's Interim Representative in Paraguay in 2023.  
He was appointed by the FAO Director-General, Mr. Qu Dongyu, with the approval of the Government of the Republic of Colombia, as the country's FAO representative from January 1, 2024.