Islamabad (GNP): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stressed the need for balanced progress across the United Nations’ three main pillars — peace and security, development, and human rights — during a meeting with Rebeca Grynspan, a candidate for UN Secretary-General, at the Prime Minister’s House.
During the meeting, PM Sharif called for effective mechanisms to ensure Security Council resolutions are properly implemented, alongside stronger adherence to international law and treaties as a foundation for global peace and prosperity. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s firm commitment to multilateralism and its continued support for the principles laid out in the UN Charter.
The prime minister placed particular emphasis on speeding up progress on the global development agenda and strengthening international cooperation to help developing countries tackle pressing challenges.
Grynspan, in turn, acknowledged Pakistan’s long-standing contributions to the United Nations and praised the country’s constructive involvement in recent regional peace initiatives.
Rebeca Grynspan’s UN Career Background
Between 2010 and 2014, Rebeca Grynspan held the position of UN Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), managing a budget of roughly $4.2 billion — among the largest within the UN system — while overseeing operations spanning approximately 170 countries and territories, making her role central to the UN’s global development work. Her responsibilities included managing the organization’s engagement in crisis-affected nations such as Somalia, Afghanistan, and Sudan, along with broader duties in program management, financial oversight, institutional governance, and coordination with both member states and other UN bodies. She also worked closely with intergovernmental budget committees and led internal reform efforts focused on improving efficiency, accountability, and transparency across the organization.
From 2006 to 2010, Grynspan served as UNDP’s Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, where she managed a team of 800 professional staff and supervised country programs and policy advisory work through offices spread across 42 countries and territories in the region. During her tenure, she helped reshape the organization’s regional strategy and grew its program delivery to over a billion dollars.
Earlier in her career, Grynspan held senior roles at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), where she provided governments with guidance on macroeconomic policy, development planning, and crisis response — experience that gave her broad exposure to the UN development system, its budget structures, intergovernmental processes, and coordination mechanisms.
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
