Sri Lanka elected Chair of the Multilateral Diplomatic Committee

Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka Ambassador A. L. A. Azeez, was elected the Chair of the Multilateral Diplomatic Committee (MDC) during it's 7th meeting held in Vienna on 20th February. The MDC was established by the General Conference of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in 1991. The Permanent Representative of Nigeria Ambassador Abel A. Ayoko was elected Vice-Chair. The MDC is composed of two members from each geographic region, which together represent the general membership of the UNIDO.

The Committee currently consists of Ecuador, Egypt, Iran, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Poland, Russian Federation, Turkey and Sri Lanka. Ambassador Azeez is also the Chairman of the Vienna Chapter of the Group of 77 and China. Meeting Ambassador Azeez at his office on February 21, UNIDO Director General LI Yong commended Sri Lanka for its leadership on behalf of developing countries within the United Nations system.