Mahmoud Saikal ( prs, محمود صیقل) is a senior

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

diplomat and an international development specialist. He was the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

from October 2015 until February 2019.

Early life and education

Saikal was born and raised in the Old City of

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

. He graduated with a

French Baccalaureate French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

from Lycee Esteqlal, Kabul in 1979. During the

Soviet Occupation of Afghanistan The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, Saikal left his second year at

Kabul University Kabul University (KU; prs, دانشگاه کابل, translit= Dāneshgāh-e-Kābul; ps, د کابل پوهنتون, translit=Da Kābul Pohantūn) is one of the major and oldest institutions of higher education in Afghanistan. It is in the 3rd ...

to finish his studies in Australia. He is a graduate of

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. U ...

, 1986, and

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

in 1988. He also holds a Master's degree in International Development from

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia. Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, ...

in Australia. He is fluent in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, Pashto, and English, and is familiar with French and Arabic.

Development career

While engaged in the development sector, Saikal served as CEO and

JICA The is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social growth in developing countries, and the promotion of international co ...

Senior Advisor for Kabul New City Development between 2008-2012. Prior to this, Saikal briefly worked as a

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

Consultant, where he authored the policy paper of ‘Afghanistan and Economic Regionalism’ in 2010. Saikal has further worked in Kabul as

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

International Advisor to the Afghanistan National Development Strategy in 2006-2008 (ANDS) as well as working as the President of the Commission for the Coordination of the Implementation of the Old Kabul City Plans. Saikal began his career working in several private development firms in Australia.

Diplomatic career

Saikal started his diplomatic career as the First Secretary and later as Counselor/ Charges D'affaires at the Afghan Embassy in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan in 1993. In late 1994, he went on to serve as Honorary Consul of Afghanistan to Australia, until 2002 when he was appointed Ambassador of Afghanistan to Australia and New Zealand. From 2005 to 2006, he served as Afghan Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. He stepped down from his position in the Ministry in late 2006 to join the

as an Advisor on Afghanistan National Development Strategy. It was at this time that Ambassador Saikal became a

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at the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

. Between 2012 and 2015, Saikal convened a major Track II regional process between Afghanistan and its neighbours, resulting in the Joint Declaration on Regional Peace and Stability. In 2014, Saikal was appointed Special Representative and Senior Advisor to the Chief Executive of Afghanistan. Saikal was instrumental in the 2006 Afghanistan-

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Declaration, which established the Framework for Enduring Cooperation in Partnership, as well as in the negotiations of the Afghanistan Compact that was presented at the London International Conference on Afghanistan in 2006. He also participated actively in the formative negotiations of the 2014 agreement of the Government of National Unity of Afghanistan. From October 2015, Saikal served as the

Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations The Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations ( ps, په ملګرو ملتونو کې د افغانستان د اسلامي جمهوريت دایمي استازی) is the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's foremost diplomatic rep ...

(New York). Under his leadership, Afghanistan was appointed to its first seat at the

Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

(2018-2020) and became a member of the Economic and Social Council (2016-2018). Saikal was the Chair of the UN General Assembly Third Committee 73rd Session. He was also the Deputy Vice Chair of the

Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) is a committee mandated by the United Nations General Assembly in order to promote the rights of the Palestinian people, support the peace process and to ...

. He served as Vice President of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly and chaired the New York consultations with

UN member States The United Nations member states are the sovereign states that are members of the United Nations (UN) and have equal representation in the UN General Assembly. The UN is the world's largest intergovernmental organization. The criteria ...

on the Global Compact on Refugees. Saikal's efforts in the promotion of regional cooperation resulted in Afghanistan’s membership in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC). Saikal was also instrumental in the formulation of the process of Regional Economic Cooperation Conferences on Afghanistan (RECCA) has strengthened Afghanistan’s membership in

Economic Cooperation Organization The Economic Cooperation Organization or ECO is an Asian political and economic intergovernmental organization that was founded in 1985 in Tehran by the leaders of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey. It provides a platform to discuss ways to improve de ...

. Saikal's term ended on February 19, 2019 and he was succeeded by Afghanistan's first female UN Ambassador,

Adela Raz Adela Raz (born 1986) is an Afghan politician who served as the last ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the United States from July 2021 to February 2022. Raz was also the first woman to hold the office of Permanent Representa ...

Awards

Saikal was the recipient of a “First Class Merit Award” from the President of Afghanistan in April 2004, as well as “Best Ambassador Award” from the Minister of Foreign Affairs in March 2003.

Personal life

Saikal has interest in literature, art, poetry and music. A collection of his early Dari poems has been published in Kabul under the title of "The Polishing of the Hearts".

References