President Abdel Fattah El Sisi congratulated Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Wali for being appointed as the next Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
On the sidelines of the Investment in Africa Forum, known as Africa 2019 Conference, Sisi discussed with Wali various issues.
Earlier on Thursday, United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres announced the appointment of Wali as the next Executive Director of the UNODC.
Wali will also serve as Director‑General of the United Nations Office at Vienna.
She succeeds Yury V. Fedotov of the Russian Federation, to whom the Secretary General is grateful for his dedicated service to the Organization.
Wali brings to the position over 30 years of experience in the field of sustainable development, poverty reduction, social protection, and women and youth empowerment.
Currently Minister for Social Solidarity, a position she assumed in 2014, Wali has developed the national anti‑drug strategy, led a nationwide drug awareness and prevention campaign among youth and pioneered innovative programmes to rehabilitate and reintegrate persons with substance use disorders into society.
In her current role, she also serves as Coordinator of the Inter‑Ministerial Committee for Social Justice, Chairperson of the National Centre for Social and Criminological Research and chairs the Executive Council of Arab Ministers of Social Affairs in the League of Arab States.
During Wali’s tenure, the ministry launched a public awareness campaign against drug use in Egypt, choosing football star Mohamed Salah as the face of the campaign in TV and online advertisements.
Her previous leadership positions include Managing Director of the Social Fund for Development (2011‑2014), Assistant Resident Representative at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Egypt (2004‑2011) and Program Director of CARE International in Egypt (2000‑2004).
Wali, born in 1966, holds a master’s degree in humanities and Bachelor of Arts in foreign languages and literature from the Colorado State University.
She is fluent in Arabic, English and French and has a working knowledge of Spanish.
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