About the Resident Coordinator's Office
In Thailand, the United Nations Country Team is led by the UN Resident Coordinator, with the support of the Resident Coordinator’s Office.
The UN Resident Coordinator, who serves as the UN Secretary General’s representative in country, is impartial and empowered to lead the UN Country Team to deliver on the 2030 Agenda through the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework with the Royal Thai Government.
The UN Country Team is comprised of the representatives of UN entities in Thailand who are advancing the Sustainable Development Goals. They capitalize on their respective strengths and comparative advantages, for maximum impact through coherent programmes and reduced transaction costs.
The UN Resident Coordinator in Thailand
Ms. Gita Sabharwal was appointed as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Thailand on 15 March 2020. As the UN Resident Coordinator, she leads 21 UN agencies under the UN Country Team to deliver the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) to advance the Sustainable Development Goals in coordination with the government, private sector, civil society and young people.
Ms. Sabharwal has close to three decades of development experience working across multiple country contexts in Asia. Her work has focused specifically on peacebuilding, governance and social policy, while generating and applying empirical and big data analysis to deal with emerging development challenges. Preceding her appointment to Thailand, Ms. Sabharwal was the Peacebuilding and Development Advisor at the United Nations in Sri Lanka, for nearly 7 years.
Prior to joining the United Nations, Ms. Sabharwal was The Asia Foundation’s Deputy Country Representative for Maldives and Sri Lanka and has held positions as the Poverty and Policy Advisor for the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) in India and Viet Nam.
Ms. Sabharwal holds a Master’s Degree in Development Management from the University of Wales, UK.
Meet the Team
The Resident Coordinator is supported by the Resident Coordinator's Office, which includes:
- Ms Iwona Spytkowski, Team Leader & Strategic Planner
- Ms Emma Kasemsuwan, Executive Associate
- Ms Dusadee Songyoo, Administrative Assistant
- Ms Marisa Panyachiva, Partnership & Development Finance Officer
- Dr Manop Udomkerdmongkol, Economist
- Dr Thamana Lekprichakul, Data & Results Reporting Officer
- Ms Yui Walsh, Coordination Officer
- Ms Eunhae Kim, Youth Climate Associate
- Ms Jintana Sakulborirak, Peace & Development Officer
- Mr Bovornpong Teddy Vathanathanakul, Communications & Advocacy Officer
