Mr. Magdy Martinez-Soliman has been appointed as Resident Representative for the UN Development Programme’s (UNDP) Sub-regional Office for Barbados and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), with full responsibilities over the British Virgin Islands. Photo: Provided

This is according to a press release from the UNDO which noted that Mr. Martinez-Soliman has a solid track record of accomplishments and vast experience in development, including a recent posting in the Caribbean where he served as UNDP Resident Representative a.i. in Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten.

Until recently and for the past years, Mr. Martinez-Soliman was Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Policy Chief of UNDP. Prior to that, he held different positions at the UN and UNDP Headquarters in New York and, has served as UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Mexico (2007-2012) and as a Senior UN Official in Senegal, West Africa, and Bangladesh, South Asia.

Prior to his career in the UN, Mr. Soliman served as Secretary of State for Youth in the Spanish Government, and later Vice Minister of the Presidency in charge of Relations with Parliament.  He was a member of the Organizing Committee for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, lectured on International Law at the Law School of Malaga University, his alma mater, and was elected City Councilor of Malaga.

Mr. Martinez-Soliman is scheduled to present Letters of Credence to the Premier, the Honourable Andrew A. Fahie on August 1 and will thereafter meet with key Ministry Officials to discuss UNDP’s continued support to the territory.

UNDP’s also recently appointed Deputy Resident Representative – formerly Advisor to UNDP’s Recovery Programme in BVI, Antigua & Barbuda and Dominica - Mr. Ugo Blanco, and Mr. Luis Francisco Thais Santa Cruz – Senior UNDP Recovery Advisor and former Head of the UNDP Project Office in the BVI - will join Mr. Martinez-Soliman on his mission to the British Virgin Islands.