RCP: Arab States

Ms. Amina J. Mohammed was Minister of Environment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from November 2015 to December 2016, where she steered the country’s efforts on climate action, protecting the natural environment and conserving resources for sustainable development. 

Prior to this, she served as Special Adviser to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Post-2015 Development Planning, where she was instrumental in bringing about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Before joining the UN, Ms. Mohammed worked for three successive administrations in Nigeria, serving as Special Advisor on the Millennium Development Goals, providing advice on issues including poverty, public sector reform and sustainable development, and coordinating programmes worth $1 billion annually for MDG-related interventions. 

She is also an Adjunct Professor in Development Practice at Columbia University, and served on numerous international advisory boards and panels, including the UN Secretary-General's High-level Panel on Post-2015 Development Agenda, the Independent Expert Advisory Group on the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development, the Global Development Program of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the African Women’s Millennium Initiative, Girl Effect, 2016 African Union Reform and the ActionAid International Right to Education Project.

Ms. Mohammed began her 35-year career in the private sector with architects and engineers responsible for the project management of health, education and public sector buildings.

Ms. Dashti is a leading Kuwaiti economist and long-time champion of women’s rights, gender equality and democratic reform. She served as member of the Supreme Planning Council in Kuwait. From 2012 to 2014, she was Minister for Planning and Development and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs. Ms. Dashti played a pivotal role in advocating for a decree to allow Kuwaiti women to vote and run for parliamentary elections. In May 2009, she and three others became the first women to be elected to the Kuwait parliament.

She has held key positions in research and development institutions, such as the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, and has worked for major national and international financial and development institutions, such as the National Bank of Kuwait and the World Bank. She also managed contracts for the Kuwaiti Emergency and Reconstruction Program during the invasion to post liberation period.

She is a regular contributor to regional and international policy forums on global governance, economic development and integration, democratization, and women’s empowerment in the MENA region.

Ms. Dashti holds a doctorate degree in population dynamics from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, a master’s degree in economics and finance from California State University in Sacramento, and a bachelor of science in agriculture economics from California State University in Chico. She speaks Arabic and English fluently.

Ms. Khalida Bouzar is the Assistant Secretary General, Assistant Administrator of UNDP and the Regional Director for Arab States. She has 35 years of international and national corporate leadership experience, including 25 years in the UN system.

Prior to her appointment as Regional Director of UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States, Ms. Bouzar served as Regional Director for Near East, North Africa and Europe, at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Earlier, Ms. Bouzar served as the Deputy Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (2008-2012). Between 2004 and 2008, she led the establishment of the IFAD’s Global Environment and Climate Change business operations.

She has also served as Regional Sustainable Development Advisor at UNDP Algeria; International Technical Expert in Drylands Development in the Bureau for Development Policy at UNDP and Programme Director at the Global Mechanism of the UNCCD.

Ms.Bouzar holds a PhD in Science from the University of Sciences, Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, and speaks English, Arabic and French.