Leadership

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Our leadership

Chitose Noguchi

UNDP Egypt Resident Representative

Chitose Noguchi serves as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Egypt, as of 17 August 2025.
Chitose has served as the Deputy Special Representative of UNDP’s Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (PAPP) since July 2021. She was appointed the Head of Gaza Sub-office in April 2019, and took on the additional role as the Deputy Special Representative a.i. from August 2020, prior to assuming this post.

Throughout her career, Chitose has championed national ownership and leadership, ensuring that institutional strengthening, policy advisory support and technical assistance to national counterparts are critical elements of programming. She has supported national planning for sustainable recovery and resilience. This includes economic recovery through import substitution, and promotion of value-based as well as circular economy. She has been an advocate of climate resilience, through integrating renewable energy solutions into water and energy infrastructure, and development of public-private-partnership models for municipal solar energy services, as well as climate smart agriculture.

Chitose has represented UNDP in various international fora and conferences, including Arab / regional conferences – most recently the World Urban Forum in Cairo, the International Islamic Charity Organisation (IICO) Conference in Kuwait, as well as the Islamic Development Bank workshop on Resilience. In these conferences and workshops, she has effectively communicated how UNDP works alongside national and local level government counterparts, to guide and support the development and implementation of strategies to address key national priorities. She has led various resource mobilisation and innovative partnerships, including efforts to facilitate the shift form funding to financing and de-risking private sector investments.

Appointed UNDP’s Global Programme Manager in the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support in 2014, she co-led the design, establishment, and operationalisation of the Multi-Partner Trust Fund ‘UN Joint Sustainable Development Goals Fund’. The Fund is the only one of its kind on SDG financing that operates across the UN system and provides catalytic resources to unlock financing. She has advocated for the alignment of UN Development Assistance Frameworks (UNDAF), UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks (UNSDCF), and Country Programmes with the national vision and priorities, including supporting the development of the Egypt UNDAF in 2012. Chitose provided oversight, quality assurance and support to over seventy global projects, coordinated the engagement of policy experts in developing and implementing UNDP’s Strategic Plan. She joined UNDP in New York as policy specialist in 2010, working on capacity development, results-based management, quality assurance, and risk management.

Prior to joining the UN, Chitose worked with CARE International for over 10 years, in headquarters and in the field. She was the National Director of CARE International in Japan and Board Member of the Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation. At the global level, she was the Board Member of CARE International, and Senior Advisor for CARE International Affairs in CARE USA. She served as Deputy Country Director in Vietnam, as well as Design, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer in CARE Sri Lanka. Chitose started her career at an international development consultancy firm in Washington D.C.

Chitose holds a B.A. in Law from the University of Tokyo, and an M.A. in International Development from the George Washington University.

Ghimar Deeb

UNDP Egypt Deputy Resident Representative,
Mr. Ghimar Deeb is the newly appointed Deputy Resident Representative at the UNDP Egypt Office, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to his role.

With twenty-four years of experience in international law and international development, Ghimar has demonstrated exceptional skills in managing complex projects and fostering sustainable development in challenging environments.

Before his current role, Ghimar served as the Deputy Resident Representative in Iraq, where he played a crucial role in advancing UNDP's mission in a post-ISIL context. His career began with UNHCR in 2000, and he joined UNDP in 2003, making significant contributions to various programmes. Recently, he was instrumental in UNDP's efforts in Jordan and Syria, focusing on the response to the Syrian refugee crisis. Ghimar's extensive background includes assignments in conflict contexts such as Iraq and Syria, where his expertise in international law and development proved invaluable. He holds LL.B. and LL.M. degrees from the Universities of Damascus, Berkeley, and Iowa. Ghimar has been a Fulbright Alumnus since 2002.