United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Xiaojun Grace Wang of China as the permanent UN coordinator in Turkmenistan.

In this post, Wang replaced Dmitry Shlapachenko, who headed the UN office in the country since 2021.

Wang has 28 years of international development experience. She has held leadership positions in sustainable development, multilateral cooperation, development finance and partnerships.

Her last job was as trust fund director at the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, where she oversaw trust funds within the UN system and mobilized resources for the Sustainable Development Goals. Previously, she also served as acting director and deputy director of this structure.

Prior to joining the UN, Wang worked in the media, as well as in foundations and scientific organizations in Asia and Europe.