UN offices in Malaysia now located in Putrajaya

PUTRAJAYA: The United Nations offices in Malaysia are now calling the federal administrative capital home after operating from Kuala Lumpur for the past 30 years.

From Wisma UN in Bukit Damansara, which opened in 1988, the UN offices – The UN Resident Coordinator, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef ) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) – are now locat- ed at Menara PJH in Precinct 2 here.

The new offices were opened by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, who reiterated Malaysia’s continuous commitment to work with them to ensure development and progress on all fronts.

“I believe the relocation of UN offices to Putrajaya will further contribute towards enhancing the circle of networking and strengthen cooperation between UN personnel and the various Malaysian government ministries and agencies.

“Malaysia strongly believes that the UN plays an imperative role as a platform for international cooperation based on the principles of mutual respect and international law,” Anifah said in his address.

Listing Malaysia’s role as a UN member since September 1957, he said the country actively promoted the three founding pillars of the UN system – peace and security, human rights and development.

“We have also played an effective role in preventing conflicts and sustaining peace during our non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council on four occasions.

“This is apart from active participation in UN peacekeeping missions since 1960,” he added.

To date, Malaysia has participated in 36 such missions with over 35,000 military and police personnel deployed.

UN Resident Coordinator for Malaysia Stefan Priesner said the move to Putrajaya saw the UN being better positioned to impact policies and the Government’s efforts in line with national priorities, international standards and commitments made towards sustainable development.

“The UN has been a development partner to Malaysia.

“Combining Malaysian and international expertise, the UN system is able to offer world-class technical assistance and policy advisory services to support the country’s aspirations to become a developed nation and be at the forefront of delivering on the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and its other international commitments,” Priesner said.