Rana Taha’s Appointment: What It Means for UN-Tunisia Cooperation
On June 19, 2025, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres designated Rana Taha of Jordan as the new UN Resident Coordinator in Tunisia. Taha is replacing Arnaud Peral of France and comes with a working experience of two decades in development, peacebuilding and leadership of the UN system. It was officially acknowledged by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration, and Tunisians abroad of Tunisia known as Mohamed Ali Nafti, when he received her credential in Tunis.
During the ceremony, discussions were held on how to intensify coalition between the United Nations and the Tunisian government whereby Taha reiterated the commitment of the United Nations in backing the national development priorities and reform agenda of the country. Her leadership comes when Tunisia is faced with a myriad of economic, social, and governance issues and the office of the Resident Coordinator is needed now more than ever.
Rana Taha’s Background and Experience
Professional Journey
Having worked over 20 years with the United Nations, Rana Taha has also worked in both the Middle East and Africa. With prior experience in Kenya, she worked as Senior Peace and Development Advisor and prior to this posting as Team Leader in Tunisia. She has held UN head office positions, including the Middle East and North Africa regional program between 2015 and 2019, and worked previously in Lebanon, Sudan, and the occupied Palestinian territories.
Her credentials in the field of academia are degrees in international relations, public policy, and sociology. The experience of Taha in conflict resolution, peace building and sustainable development makes her a strategic head of the UN Country Team in Tunisia.
Mandate as Resident Coordinator
Taha, as resident coordinator, runs the UN country team in Tunisia, coordinating the works of more than 20 UN agencies, funds and programmes in the country. Her mission is to bring consistency and effectiveness in the assistance to the development of Tunisia that should be associated with the themes of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2021-2025.
The UNSDCF is the policy framework under which the UN engages in its operations in Tunisia with a focus on governance, economic growth, social protection, gender equality, climate action and youth empowerment. The leadership of Taha will be critical in furthering the above priorities and help the progress of Tunisia toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Strengthening UN-Tunisia Cooperation
Supporting National Priorities
Tunisia’s national development agenda focuses on inclusive economic growth, good governance, social cohesion, and environmental sustainability. The UN Country Team under the coordination of Taha is dedicated to advancing these aims through technical cooperation, capacity development, and policy dialogue.
Taha has already reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to Tunisia’s reform process, declaring her commitment to “strengthening the partnership between the United Nations and Tunisia in support of sustainable development”. Tunisian authorities have also welcomed the appointment, emphasizing the significance of sustained UN assistance for the country’s ambitious development targets.
The Role of UN Agencies
The presence of agencies, funds and programs of the UN in Tunisia is more than 20, and the main ones are the UNDP, UNICEF, UN Women, FAO, WHO, and so on. The programs provided by these agencies are numerous and cover topics on economic empowerment and education, health, social and climate resilience. This effort is coordinated through the office of the Resident Coordinator to support country-led planning and make sure that their aims are strategic and aligned to the national priorities as well as SDGs.
UN Women has achieved especially great success in the fields of gender equality, promotion of national institutions, and gender mainstreaming of UN programmes in Tunisia. The inclusion of the agency in the UN Country Team has strengthened the fight against violence on women as well as economic empowerment and political inclusion of women.
Challenges and Opportunities in 2025
Socio-Economic Context
Economic problems have continually bothered Tunisia such as gross unemployment, inflation and fiscal difficulties. Social tensions and demands towards political changes are observed widely, meanwhile, the government attempts to implement structural reforms and inclusive growth. The assistance of the UN in overcoming these difficulties and providing viable policies is of vital importance to Tunisia.
Environmental sustainability and climate change are also an issue. One of the work of the UN in Tunisia is to initiate initiatives on climate adaptation, renewable energy and sustainable agriculture to help the country to become a green economy.
Advancing the SDGs
The UNSDCF 2021-2025 will give the opportunity to align the UN support with the SDG promises of Tunisia. Reduction of poverty, quality education, health, gender equality and climate action are the key areas of focus. The UN Country Team intervenes together with the government ministries, civil society and international partners in order to make progress on these goals faster.
It may be assumed that the leadership of Taha facilitates such initiatives as these are likely to be more effective with her experience in terms of peacebuilding and development as the complexities of these challenges are cross-sectoral.
Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment
The presence of UN Women in Tunisia has been enhanced by integration into the national UN Country Team since the year 2019. The agency has assisted the government to come up with gender responsive policies and enhancement of women thus raising their participation in the running of the country besides fighting gender based violence.
It is expected that Taha will serve as an asset to the UN on its destiny on women rights and empowerment in Tunisia since Taha has a background on gender mainstreaming and a past experience in the countries affected by conflict and transition.
Partnerships and International Cooperation
UN operations in Tunisia are facilitated through an excellent relationship with the government, civil society and international donors. The Resident Coordinator is the key member of mobilizing resources, collaboration and making sure UN interventions are responsive to local needs.
The appointment of Taha is viewed as a chance to strengthen such collaboration and achieve greater impact on the UN. This history of working as the head of the regional and global UN makes her prepared to cope with the intricacies of international collaboration and find opportunities to present Tunisia interests on the international arena.
Reflections from Regional Leaders
In her interview with the Al Arabiya News Channel, Queen Rania of Jordan has written about the appointment of Rana Taha. She commended the constructive efforts of Taha in her public service and how she had made efforts to enhance the cause of sustainable development and women rights in the Arab region. In particular, Queen Rania emphasized a need to have effective leadership in the international organizations and that she was sure that experience will make a difference in the cooperation between Tunisia and the UN.
The Future of UN-Tunisia Cooperation
Rana Taha is appointed at the crucial point in the history of Tunisia and the United Nations. She is also expected to inject a new lease of life in her partnership, and as much as the focus would be on providing real deliverables to the people of Tunisia. It is expected that as Tunisia undertakes the development and reform agenda, the assistance accorded by the UN, which will be coordinated through the office of Taha will be part of realizing national and global objectives.
The obstacles are very high, so are the possibilities of development. Taha was a UN Country Team reformer because of her experience, commitment, and vision of what Tunisia aspires to be more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient.
