Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the OSCE PA's recent Winter Meeting in Vienna.COPENHAGEN, 16 March 2011 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Vice-President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan has been named the new Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, the first Asian to serve in this position.

“Mr. Tokayev has been an asset to the Parliamentary Assembly and an important voice representing the interests of his country and region to the OSCE,” said OSCE PA President Petros Efthymiou. “His generous contributions to our multilateral dialogue will be missed, but we know he will continue to work on fundamental issues of peace and stability through this new role.”

In his new capacity, Mr. Tokayev will serve as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s representative to the Conference on Disarmament. Kazakhstan gave up all its nuclear weapons in the mid-1990s.

“As the leader of Kazakhstan’s delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Mr. Tokayev has proven to be a stalwart supporter of multilateral diplomacy,” said OSCE PA Secretary General Spencer Oliver. “We look forward to continuing to work with him and deepen our co-operation with the United Nations on our common agenda.”