Opening Session
Monday 18 April 15:45 - 16:00
Opening Address - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
RESUME
A national of Japan, Yuriko Shoji is FAO's Subregional Coordinator for Central Asia and FAO Representative for Turkey, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.
She joined FAO in 2007 to head the technical cooperation unit in the field operations division at headquarters in Rome, Italy. Most recently, she was director of the FAO office charged with overseeing a significant shift of authority to the Organization's regional, sub-regional and country offices.
Before joining FAO, Shoji was UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in the Republic of Kazakhstan, from 2004 to 2007. Her wide-ranging work in this position spanned poverty reduction, environmental management, democratic governance, promoting gender equality and addressing HIV/AIDS. She also worked to further the country's progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, and was involved in work with the Global Environment Fund and a regional water initiative.
Shoji holds a B.A. in Intercultural Communication from the International Christian University of Tokyo, Japan, and a Master of Professional Studies in Development Sociology from Cornell University, USA.
