Permanent Representative to the UN, New York Carsten Staur of Denmark

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Staur is married and has two children.

Staur was Denmark's State Secretary for Foreign Affairs before taking the post at the United Nations.

State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and head of Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), Carsten Staur said his country stands ready to lend full support to the people of Nepal in the change political context and the challenging period ahead.

During his tour, Staur met government officers, political leaders, civil society members, human rights activists and representatives of international donor agencies in Nepal.

Staur was his country’s State Secretary for Foreign Affairs (2001-2007) and Under-Secretary for Bilateral Affairs (Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America) (2000-2001)and Administrative Affairs (1998-2000.

Staur said there is a need for diversification in the economy over time and it is one of the reasons why Denmark is the only bilateral donor in the agriculture sector.

POST REPORT KATHMANDU, June 16 - State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and Head of Danida Carsten Staur said today that direct support to Nepal's peace process worth 50 million Danish Kroners that the Danish parliament is expected to approve this August can be used to finance constituent assembly elections or to support agencies overseeing decommissioning or disarmament.

Staur said that in his meeting with Prime Minister Koirala, he urged the latter that while peace process is the top priority, the government must not overlook the issue of Bhutanese refugees and should resume dialogue with Bhutan and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

On why he met King Gyanendra during the visit, Staur said that he wanted to meet as many parties to the peace process as possible.

Carsten Staur has served as Denmarks permanent representative to the United Nations since March 1, 2007; he is concurrently also serving as chairman of the Executive Board of UNDP and UNFPA for 2007.

Ambassador Staur has an extensive background in development cooperation.

Prior to this, Ambassador Staur was under secretary for bilateral development cooperation, responsible for the planning, implementation and monitoring of Denmarks bilateral development assistance, including the decentralization of managerial responsibility to embassies and field offices.

Ambassador Staur joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark in 1981.

Ambassador Carsten Staur said the world was lagging in the race to achieve many of the eight MDGs before their target date of 2015, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

audit that as called for, the mandate of the Panel has not been expanded.

Kathmandu, June 13State Secretary and Head of Danida, Carsten Staur is scheduled to visit Nepal from Thursday to hold political consultations and assess latest political developments in Nepal.

According to the envoy, Staur is responsible for total Danish development assistance to Nepal.

State Secretary Carsten Staur said he warmly welcomed strong engagement in the UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS campaign, adding that the Danish Government would support UNICEF in its efforts to strengthen support to some of the world’s most vulnerable children.

Staur said he would work with the rest of the Executive Board to determine the details of the new review, including the terms of reference and the selection of the individuals to head it.