Resident Representative of UNDP for the Republic of Albania
Monica Merino has been appointed as Resident Representative of UNDP for the Republic of Albania. Prior to this appointment, Ms. Merino was UNDP’s Deputy Resident Representative in El Salvador from 2017 to 2021. She also served as Special Advisor in the Regional Hub Panama (2016-2017), as Deputy Resident Representative and Resident Representative ad interim in UNDP Nicaragua (2014-2016), and as Deputy Resident Representative successively in UNDP Ecuador (2011-2014), UNDP Argentina (2008-2011), and UNDP Mozambique (2006-2007). She started her career as Assistant Resident Representative in UNDP Honduras (1999-2006). Ms. Merino holds a Master´s degree in International Economics and Finance from Brandeis University, USA. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Universidad Nacional de Honduras. She speaks Spanish and English.
Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP for the Republic of Albania
Francisco Roquette served as Deputy Resident Representative for Programme and Operations in UNDP Mozambique and UNDP Equatorial Guinea. Prior he worked at the World Bank (Ethiopia's public sector reform) and a UNEP/University of Cambridge Poverty and Environment initiative in several countries, including Tanzania and Eastern European countries.
He has also served as UNDP Assistant Resident Representative in Montenegro and later also as ARR in El Salvador and Belize, followed by the positions of Senior Portfolio Manager and UNV Regional Manager responsible for the Latin America and Caribbean region and for programs in the areas of volunteering and youth, peace and natural disaster responses.
In HQ/New York he was part of the CARICOM/United Nations task force that supported the reconstruction of countries and territories affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. He has subsequently served as Senior Management Advisor for the UNDP office in Gaza, Palestine, with representation, resource mobilization and leadership roles mostly related to job creation and civil society empowerment initiatives.
Francisco Roquette has a PhD in Management and a Masters in Development Studies, both from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Bologna, Italy.