Rabat, 3 October 2017 (ECA) - Ms Lilia Hachem Naas took up her functions as Director of the ECA Office for North Africa in Rabat (Morocco) on 2 October 2017.
A Tunisian national, Ms Hachem Naas has worked for the United Nations for 20 years. Before joining the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Ms Hachem Naas was Chief at the Office for Arab States at the International Trade Centre (ITC) in Geneva, since October 2013. During her tenure at ITC, Ms Hachem Naas was able to strengthen the strategic position of ITC in the Arab region by increasing the portfolio of projects, and by expanding and enhancing relationships with institutions at national and regional levels including with development partners and the donor community.
Ms Hachem Naas joined ITC in September 1998 where she held various managerial positions working in the Office for Africa, Office for Asia Pacific, Enterprise Competitiveness Section and Sector Competitiveness Section. She successfully managed one of ITC’s largest programmes, the Netherland Trust Fund II (NTFII) with a total budget of US$ 16 mil. Ms Hachem Naas has extensive experience in coordinating complex trade development programmes to achieve sustainable and inclusive economic growth, focusing particularly on SMEs competitiveness, regional integration, South South cooperation, women empowerment and youth employment.
In 2009-2010, Ms Hachem Naas held the position of Manager, Local Development Programme at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) where she was responsible for the strategic development and overall management of the programme focusing on strengthening the capacity of local authorities to implement the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Prior to joining ITC, Ms Hachem Naas worked with Hewlett Packard Company in the USA and the Tunisian Export Promotion Centre (CEPEX) in Tunisia.
Ms Hachem Naas holds an MBA in International Business Management and a Master of Science in Management Information Systems from University of Maryland College Park in the USA.
Ms Hachem Naas is fluent in Arabic, English and French.
ليليا هاشم نعاس، مديرة مكتب اللجنة الاقتصادية لأفريقيا بشمال إفريقيا
Note to the editors
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is one of the five regional commissions of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). ECA’s office in North Africa supports the sub-region’s development by helping its countries (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia and Sudan) formulate and apply policies and programs to achieve economic and social transformation.
Communication Team
Economic Commission for Africa
Office for North Africa
Tel: +212 (0) 537 548 749
Email: filali-ansary@un.org;cea.an.coms@gmail.com