New Council Members for UN Technology Bank as it enters second year of operations

Gebze, 16 January 2020 - The UN Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries announced new Council Members today at its annual meeting to evaluate work, approve budgets and plan for the future.

Stefano Manservisi, the former Director-General for International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO) at the European Commission and Prof. Hasan Mandal, President of TUBITAK have been appointed by the UN Secretary General to serve as new Council Members. They succeed Dr Ann Aerts, Head of the Novartis Foundation, member of the Broadband Commission; Dr Frank Rijsberman, Director General, Global Green Growth Institute and Dr Orkun Hasekioğlu, Advisor to the President of TÜBITAK, whose terms ended on 31 December 2019.

“I wish to warmly welcome new and reappointed Council Members, to this important meeting and to thank those Members who have left the Council for their valued service to the Technology Bank,” said Joshua Setipa, Managing Director of the UN Technology Bank.

“The Council is central to the governance of the UN Technology Bank and we rely on the rich personal experience of the Council Members to guide and advise us as we support science, technology and innovation in the world’s least developed countries.”

The Technology Bank is governed by the 13-member Council and reports on an annual basis to the United Nations General Assembly. Council Members serve in their personal capacity for three-year terms, they are appointed by the Secretary General of the United Nations.

Reappointed members of the Council are: Prof. Aggrey Ambali, Head of STI Hub, NEPAD; Mr Abdoulaye Yero Baldé, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Republic of Guinea; Ms Sonia Bashir Kabir, Founder, Chairman & CEO of SBK Tech Ventures; Dr Bitrina Diyamett, Executive Director of the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Research Organization (STIPRO); Prof. Xiaolan Fu, Director, Technology and Management Centre for Development, Oxford University; Prof. Zakri Abdul Hamid, Former Science Adviser to the Prime Minister of Malaysia;Prof.  Mohamed H.A. Hassan, President TWAS; Dr Rosibel Ochoa, Associate Vice Chancellor Technology Partnerships, University of California Riverside; Dr Alfred Watkins, Chairman of the Global Solutions Summits; Ms Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.

Representatives of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the President of the World Bank and the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization have official observer status to the Council. Appointment of an additional Council Member is currently pending.

The UN Technology Bank is a new global organization, dedicated to enhancing the contribution of science, technology and innovation for sustainable development in the world’s 47 least developed countries as they seek solutions to confront the severe structural impediments to their sustainable development.

The UN Technology Bank supports national and regional technological efforts in least developed countries, reinforces partnerships across sectors and supports nations to identify and use appropriate technologies to transform their economies and improve livelihoods.

Media contact: Louise Stoddard  UNTB@un.org

Website: www.un.org/technologybank