UN Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Sudanese Amir Mahmoud Abdulla as UN Coordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BCNI).
The Initiative was launched by Ukraine, Türkiye, Russia and the United Nations on July 22 to allow the resumption of export from Ukraine of cereals, food products and fertilizers , including ammonia, through a safe humanitarian corridor at sea.
Abdulla succeeds in this post to the American Frederick Kenney, who had been loaned by the International Maritime Organization as United Nations Acting Coordinator at the Joint Coordination Center.
A UN statement states that Amir Mahmoud Abdulla has 30 years of experience in the fields of humanitarianism and management that he acquired at the World Food Program (WFP).
He is also an expert in emergency operations, supply chain and security. From 2009 to 2022, he was Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operations Officer of WFP, overseeing humanitarian operations around the world.
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