For information only - not an official document

UNIS/VIC/203
15 October 2014

Head of UN in Vienna welcomes President of Mongolia

VIENNA, 15 October (UN Information Service) -Head of the UN in Vienna, and Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov, today offered a warm welcome to the President of Mongolia Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj when he visited the Vienna International Centre (VIC).

Mr. Fedotov said, "I am proud to greet the President as the Head of the UN Offices in Vienna. I look forward to showing him the wide range of activities being undertaken here in Vienna; work which actively advances the UN goals in the areas of peace, security and development."

During the meeting, Mr. Fedotov, as Executive Director of UNODC, took the opportunity to discuss Mongolia's close relationship with the organization. He expressed his appreciation for President Elbegdorj's strong anti-corruption platform and noted the Mongolian government's support of the UNODC/World Bank Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR).

The StAR initiative supports developing countries and financial centres around the world to prevent the laundering of corruption proceeds and facilitates the return of stolen assets. Mr. Fedotov also thanked President Elbegdorj for the support provided to address transnational organized crime, drugs, and terrorism.

President Elbegdorj, as part of his visit, also toured UNODC's laboratory. The laboratory was introduced to assist Member States in drug analysis and forensic science and to ensure that services met the requirements of the international drug control conventions and crime prevention frameworks and treaties. 

Mr. Fedotov met President Elbegdorj as the head of a delegation of Vienna-based organizations. The other members of the delegation were Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), Lassina Zerbo; Deputy Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Aldo Malavasi, acting on behalf of Yukiya Amano, Director General of IAEA; and Deputy Director-General of the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Taizo Nishikawa, on behalf of Li Yong, Director General of UNIDO.

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For further information, please contact:

David Dadge
Spokesperson, UNODC/UNOV
Telephone: (+43- 1) 26060-5629
Mobile: (+43) 699-1459-5629
Email: david.dadge[at]unvienna.org