UN appoints interim resident coordinator in Azerbaijan

A new interim United Nations Resident Coordinator has been designated for Azerbaijan, according to information provided to Report’s American bureau by Carolina Azevedo, Head of the UN Development Coordination Office.

Azevedo stated that Muhammad Nasir Hayat, who serves as the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) Representative in the Republic of Azerbaijan, has been appointed to temporarily assume the responsibilities of the UN Resident Coordinator in the country.

She noted that the mandate of the current UN Resident Coordinator, Vladanka Andreeva, will formally conclude on January 8, 2026.

According to the information released, the incoming Resident Coordinator is currently based in another country and will begin his full duties in Azerbaijan once he completes his obligations there. His official start date as UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan is set for July 1, 2026.

Azevedo added that, in order to maintain continuity in the UN Office’s leadership during the transition period, Muhammad Nasir Hayat will temporarily undertake coordination responsibilities in Azerbaijan from January 9 to 14, 2026.

Nasar Hayat is the Resident Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations in Azerbaijan and leads the Organisation’s Partnership and Coordination Office. He assumed this role in July 2023 and presented his credentials to Azerbaijan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jeyhun Bayramov.

Before his assignment in Azerbaijan, Hayat headed the FAO office in Laos. His professional background also includes 11 years of service in the government of Pakistan, as well as work with several international institutions, including the United Nations Development Programme, the United States Agency for International Development, and the Asian Development Bank.

Vladanka Andreeva, the outgoing UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan, has held her post since July 1, 2021.

By Tamilla Hasanova