UN chief appoints ex-Kyrgyzstan president as Afghanistan envoy

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday appointed a former president of Kyrgyzstan as his new special envoy for Afghanistan.

Roza Otunbayeva, who also served as foreign minister of Kyrgyzstan, replaces Deborah Lyons of Canada, who stepped down in mid-June, the United Nations said in a statement, according to China Daily.

Otunbayeva will also serve as head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, the statement read.

Otunbayeva brings to the position over 35 years of professional experience in leadership, diplomacy, civic engagement, and international cooperation, according to the statement.

She served as president of the Kyrgyz Republic from 2010 to 2011, and on three occasions as foreign minister, most recently as an acting minister in 2005.

Otunbayeva held several senior diplomatic positions including as ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic to Britain, the United States, and Canada.

She also served with the United Nations as deputy special representative of the secretary-general in the UN Observer Mission in Georgia from 2002 to 2004.