Our Team in United Arab Emirates

Ms. Boëll-Yousfi has 23 years of experience in international development and humanitarian cooperation in the Middle East and Africa. She has held management and leadership positions within the UN for 19 years with a solid track record of driving positive change, spearheading successful initiatives and fostering a collaborative and results-driven work environment. She brings extensive expertise in strategic planning, policy dialogue, development and humanitarian coordination, and advocacy for the 2030 Agenda.  

Prior to this appointment, she served as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Representative in Morocco, Libya, the DPRK, and more recently in Mozambique, leading strategic alliances and innovative solutions to tackle complex development challenges with national governments, civil society organizations, and international partners. She served as the UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim on multiple occasions in Libya and Mozambique, leading the UN's coordinated efforts amidst intricate circumstances.  

Prior to that, Ms. Boëll-Yousfi served as UNFPA Regional Advisor, developing strategic partnerships for 21 countries in East and Southern Africa. She joined UNFPA after holding various senior positions within the United Nations Works and Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) for eight years in Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. Ms. Boëll-Yousfi started her career in a Spanish NGO in the Caribbean region and in North Africa for five years.

Ms. Bérangère Boëll holds a Master’s Degree in International Cooperation from the Complutense University of Madrid and two Bachelors’degrees in Political Sciences and Foreign Languages from Paris VIII and la Sorbonne University.

Adel Darwish serves as Director of the ITU Regional Office for Arab States, covering 22 Arab countries. He has more than 20 years’ experience in the field of telecommunications, spanning incumbent operator, startup operator, and regulator. In his different roles, Mr Darwish has been involved with international relations, including ICANN, GSMA, the GCC Council, the League of Arab States, Arab Regulatory Network (AREGNET), and SAMENA Council.

Mr Adil Radoini is the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) Regional Coordinator for the Middle East and GCC countries. He works for the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) and Security Governance Programme. He previously worked as a journalist for the Italian press and TV. In 2009, together with other international experts, he published “Un Hussein alla casa Bianca”, a perspective of the Arab world on the 2008 US elections. He graduated from the University of Bologna with a Master's degree in International Relations focusing on Middle Eastern politics, carrying out a research thesis led in Cairo and at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques, in Paris.

Mr. Ben Lassoued has over 15 years of experience in communications and journalism. He joined the Department of Global Communications from the United Nations Development Coordination Office, where he provided communication support to United Nations country teams worldwide, including in Africa and the Arab region.

Previously, he worked with the United Nations in various development and humanitarian settings as well as for the Government of Tunisia and the media. Mr. Ben Lassoued has developed and implemented multimedia information campaigns and communications strategies, including crisis communications. He has built strong partnerships with United Nations agencies, governmental institutions, civil society organizations, and the private sector.

Mr. Ben Lassoued is a former student of contemporary philosophy (Magistère) at the Ecole Normale Supérieure. He also holds a research master’s degree in history of philosophy from the Paris-Sorbonne University.

Amr El Nasharty serves as UNDSS Security Advisor for the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman. His previous experience includes posts with UNDSS in Yemen and Darfur, as well as posts with peacekeeping missions in Haiti and Congo. He holds degrees in Law and Political Science.

Basmah Al-Mayman is the UNWTO Regional Director for the Middle East. She previously served as manager of the International Organizations and Committees Department at the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, developing and strengthening relations with international organizations such as UN agencies, the World Bank, and other stakeholders in the fields of tourism, heritage, museums, antiquities, and built heritage. She holds an MBA from Al Faisal University in cooperation with the University of Oxford.

Dr. Hany Torky currently serves as Chief Technical Advisor of the Knowledge Project (AKP), a UNDP-MBRF joint initiative. Prior to joining the project in 2010, Hany was an assistant professor at Alexandria University. He has around 20 years of experience in the areas of Statistics and Knowledge for Development, and holds a PhD in Applied Statistics from Alexandria University.

Ms Inas Hamad (Egypt) was appointed UNV Regional Portfolio Specialist for Arab States in September 2020, based in Amman Regional Office. Before taking this regional position, Ms Hamad served as the UNV Country Coordinator for Egypt. Through her practical knowledge attained during 20 years of experience with the international world of nonprofits, including the World Health Organization, the World Bank, USAID, and Plan International, Ms Hamad has gained exposure in diverse capacities to several development fields. She has been involved in strategic planning, programme management, resource mobilization, and international cooperation. Ms Hamad holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the American University in Cairo and Columbia University in New York City, with focused studies on UN Management. She is a certified trainer in gender and development from the Royal Tropical Institute in the Netherlands.

Mr Kulessa is the UNFPA Representative for the GCC countries, based in Muscat, Oman since October 2020. He has worked with UNFPA since 1992. After a two-year posting as Junior Professional Officer in New York, he moved to the field covering countries in Africa, Asia. From 2004 onward he was a country representative in various countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA). In his last posting before Oman, he worked as Representative in Turkey and Country Director for Azerbaijan, and Georgia. His portfolio in Turkey also included the humanitarian response covering Syrian refugees and cross-border.

Mr Mageed Yahia is the WFP Director for the UAE office and Representative for the GCC Region. Based in Dubai, leading the WFP operations’ support and services and spearheading efforts to enhance WFP’s engagement with Government entities as well as the Private and Public sector in the Region. He brings in diverse experience enriched by both functional and geographic mobility. Prior to taking up this position, Mageed was the WFP Representative, Country Director and Emergency Coordinator in Jordan. Mageed has more than thirty years’ experience working in the humanitarian field in both emergency and development settings.

Mounir Tabet who is a national of Canada took up his official functions as deputy executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in September 2018. Mr Tabet was the UNDP country director for Iraq from 2016 to 2018 and oversaw the program on stabilization and transition. Prior to joining UNDP, Mr Tabet worked with the North-South Institute and the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa, and the University of Ottawa.
Mr Tabet is an Edward S. Mason Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University where he obtained a Master's degree in public administration. He also holds a Master's degree in economics from the University of Ottawa.

As Director of the UN Women-UAE Liaison Office for the GCC since 2016, Dr. Mouza drives efforts to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in the UAE, GCC, and globally. Prior to this, she served as the Senior Adviser and International Representative to the General Women’s Union, the UAE’s primary organization dedicated to gender equality and women’s empowerment. Dr. Mouza also served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the UAE Armed Forces National Service and Reserve Authority. She holds an M.D. from Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain, an MSc in Sports Medicine from Queen Mary, University of London, and a Research Medical Doctorate from Queen Mary, University of London.

Taimur has worked with the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC) for over 9 years. He is currently heading the UNFCCC-WGEO Regional Collaboration Centre for the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (RCC Dubai) as the Regional Lead and is Regional Coordinator for the UNFCCC-IGES Regional Collaboration Centre for Asia and the Pacific (RCC Bangkok). Taimur has expertise in climate action related programme management, strategic partnerships, and resource mobilization. He is additionally serving as a Team Lead at the UN Climate Change Secretariat based in Bonn. Prior to joining the secretariat, he served in the Federal Ministry of Climate Change in Pakistan and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok. Taimur holds multiple Master's degrees in business administration and project management.

Rouba is Executive Coordinator of the Abu Dhabi Office of the Convention on Migratory Species. Prior to joining the UN, Rouba acted as a Technical Director and Regional Environment and Climate Change Practice Lead for an international engineering and development consultancy. She has over seventeen years of experience supporting international financial institutions, government and the private sector identifying and managing their environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities. Rouba advised and supported high profile projects internationally and regionally where she influenced and contributed to the positive environmental and social outcomes of those projects including developing action plans and road maps to combat risks and impacts on biodiversity, cultural heritage, climate change, child labour issues and labour rights.

Ryszard Cholewinski is the Senior Migration Specialist in ILO’s Regional Office for Arab States, based in Beirut, having previously worked at ILO Headquarters in Geneva (2010-2017) and IOM (2005-2010). He oversees ILO’s labour migration work in the Arab region relating to policy and technical assistance, research, and development cooperation, in close collaboration with ILO Geneva, field offices in other regions and ILO’s tripartite constituents, with a view to advancing ILO’s fair migration agenda. He is a lawyer by training with 13 years of previous experience in an academic setting.

Mr. Salah Khaled (Egypt) is appointed as the Director of UNESCO Office for Gulf States and Yemen, and UNESCO Representative to Bahrain, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, as of 1 May 2022. He has served with UNESCO since 2001, taking up several key positions in the Middle East, Asia, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa, including some post-conflict and post-disaster countries. He is a graduate of the American University in Cairo with a BA in Poli􀆟cal Sciences and a MBA in Human Development from the Arab Academy in Alexandria.

With over 20 years of experience in management, Mr. Dimassi has extensive experience in multi-lateral and international relations, corporate and policy reform, intergovernmental affairs, strategy design and private sector engagement. Mr. Sami Dimassi joined the UNEP Regional Office for West Asia as Director and Regional Representative in 2017. He held several senior positions in the UN System, such as Senior ICT Advisor, Head of the Innovation Branch, Deputy Director of the Science division, Director of Private Sector Engagement, and Acting Director of Corporate Services all within UNEP. A Lebanese-Canadian national, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from Ottawa University and a master’s in Management from Waterloo University in Canada.