Bulgarian national appointed new head of UN regional centre in Central Asia

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Petko Draganov of Bulgaria as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), located in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

Mr. Draganov will succeed Miroslav Jenca of Slovakia, who was recently appointed Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs.

“The Secretary-General is grateful to Mr. Jenca for his vision and leadership at the helm of the UNRCCA since its inception,” stated the announcement of the appointment.

The UNRCCA was established in 2007 to assist and support the Governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan in finding solutions for emerging problems and eliminating potential threats.

Mr. Draganov currently serves as Deputy Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), a position he has held since 2009. He has also served as First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria and in numerous diplomatic postings in Africa.