Malabo July 20, 2022. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation took place the ceremony of presentation of the Letters of Credence of Ms. Hind JALAL, new Resident Representative of the United Nations Population Fund Office in Equatorial Guinea to H.E. Mr. Simeon OYONO ESONO, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. During the meeting, the Minister highlighted the good relations that the Government nurture with UNFPA and the important role that the agency plays in the country on the issues of Reproductive Health, Gender Equality, Adolescents and youth. He concluded by saying that the Ministry is committed to support the Representative in achieving her objectives and that his doors are open for any inquiry. He also introduced the Representative to his team members and invited her to reach out to them anytime.

The UNFPA Representative expressed gratitude to the Minister for having granted her this audience and committed to support the Government in achieving the Goals set in its Economic and Social Development Plan-PNDES 2035 through the CPD-Country Program Document 2019-2023. Above all, to achieve the 3 transformative outcomes in Equatorial Guinea: End Unavoidable Maternal Deaths; Unmet Need for Family Planning and Gender Based Violence and Harmful Practices.

Ms. JALAL brings an extensive experience along the Humanitarian -Development-Peace Nexus in technical and managerial positions in North, West and Central Africa together at the UN System and at the Government.

Prior to Equatorial Guinea, she was Representative ai for UN Women Cameroon since November 2018, where she successfully repositioned the office as a key player in gender equality and women's empowerment. She previously worked for the UNFPA West and Central Africa Regional Office and UNFPA Morocco Country Office, where she implemented sound Youth and gender-responsive interventions with significant results to advance Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. Prior to UNFPA, Ms. Jalal held several leadership positions within the Moroccan Ministry of Economy and Finance, where she worked in Economic, Sector, Trade and Social Policy formulation and analysis. She authored and co-authored books and articles in Gender and Taxation, Feminist Economics and demographic dividend.

A national of Morocco, she holds a Ph.D. in Law and Development Economics from Sophia Antipolis University of Nice (France) and two Masters in Management (one from the Sophia Antipolis University of Nice (France) and one from the ISCAE of Morocco). He is fluent in Arabic, French, English and Spanish.