Mahmoud Saikal () is an

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

former senior diplomat and an

international development International development or global development is a broad concept denoting the idea that societies and countries have differing levels of economic development, economic or human development (economics), human development on an international sca ...

specialist. He was the Permanent Representative of the

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was a presidential republic in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2021. The state was established to replace the Afghan Afghan Interim Administration, interim (2001–2002) and Transitional Islamic State of Afghanist ...

to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

from October 2015 until February 2019.

Early life and education

Saikal was born and raised in the Old City of

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

. He graduated with a

French Baccalaureate French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

from

Lycee Esteqlal In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...

, Kabul in 1979. During the

Soviet Occupation of Afghanistan The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by area ...

, Saikal left his second year at

Kabul University Kabul University (KU; ) is one of the major and oldest institutions of higher education in Afghanistan. It is in the 3rd District of the capital Kabul near the Ministry of Higher Education. It was founded in 1931 by King Mohammed Nadir Shah, wh ...

to finish his studies in Australia. He is a graduate of

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public university, public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is from Belconnen Town Centre, and from Canberra's Civic, Australian ...

, 1986, and

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

in 1988. He also holds a Master's degree in International Development from

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974 with antecedent history since 1887, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia and a founding father of Australian Fede ...

in Australia. He is fluent in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, Pashto, and English, and is familiar with French and Arabic.

Development career

While engaged in the development sector, Saikal served as CEO and

JICA The Japan International Cooperation Agency (), also known as JICA'','' is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social gro ...

Senior Advisor for Kabul New City Development between 2008-2012. Prior to this, Saikal briefly worked as a

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

Consultant, where he authored the policy paper of ‘Afghanistan and Economic Regionalism’ in 2010. Saikal has further worked in Kabul as

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

International Advisor to the Afghanistan National Development Strategy in 2006-2008 (ANDS) as well as working as the President of the Commission for the Coordination of the Implementation of the Old Kabul City Plans. Saikal began his career working in several private development firms in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Diplomatic career

Saikal started his diplomatic career as the First Secretary and later as Counselor/ Charges D'affaires at the Afghan Embassy in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in 1993. In late 1994, he went on to serve as Honorary Consul of Afghanistan to Australia, until 2002 when he was appointed Ambassador of Afghanistan to Australia and New Zealand. From 2005 to 2006, he served as Afghan Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. He stepped down from his position in the Ministry in late 2006 to join the

as an Advisor on Afghanistan National Development Strategy. It was at this time that Ambassador Saikal became a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

at the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

. Between 2012 and 2015, Saikal convened a major Track II regional process between Afghanistan and its neighbours, resulting in the Joint Declaration on Regional Peace and Stability. In 2014, Saikal was appointed Special Representative and Senior Advisor to the Chief Executive of Afghanistan. Saikal was instrumental in the 2006 Afghanistan-

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

Declaration, which established the Framework for Enduring Cooperation in Partnership, as well as in the negotiations of the Afghanistan Compact that was presented at the London International Conference on Afghanistan in 2006. He also participated actively in the formative negotiations of the 2014 agreement of the Government of National Unity of Afghanistan. From October 2015, Saikal served as the

Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations The permanent representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations () is the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's foremost diplomat, diplomatic representative to the United Nations. The permanent Representative is the head of a diplomatic mission to t ...

(New York). Under his leadership, Afghanistan was appointed to its first seat at the

Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. The ...

(2018-2020) and became a member of the Economic and Social Council (2016-2018). Saikal was the Chair of the UN General Assembly Third Committee 73rd Session. He was also the Deputy Vice Chair of the

Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) is a committee mandated by the United Nations General Assembly in order to promote the rights of the Palestinian people, support the peace process and to ...

. He served as Vice President of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly and chaired the New York consultations with

UN member States The United Nations comprise sovereign states and the world's largest intergovernmental organization. All members have equal representation in the UN General Assembly. The Charter of the United Nations defines the rules for admission of ...

on the Global Compact on Refugees. Saikal's efforts in the promotion of regional cooperation resulted in Afghanistan’s membership in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC). Saikal was also instrumental in the formulation of the process of Regional Economic Cooperation Conferences on Afghanistan (RECCA) has strengthened Afghanistan’s membership in

Economic Cooperation Organization The Economic Cooperation Organization or ECO is a Eurasian political and economic intergovernmental organization that was founded in 1985 in Tehran by the leaders of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey. It provides a platform to discuss ways to improve ...

. Saikal's term ended on February 19, 2019 and he was succeeded by Afghanistan's first female UN Ambassador,

Adela Raz Adela Raz (born 1986) is an Afghan politician who was the last ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the United States from July 2021 to February 2022. She was also the first woman to serve as Permanent Representative of Afghanis ...

Awards

Saikal was the recipient of a “First Class Merit Award” from the President of Afghanistan in April 2004, as well as “Best Ambassador Award” from the Minister of Foreign Affairs in March 2003.

Personal life

Saikal has interest in literature, art, poetry and music. A collection of his early Dari poems has been published in Kabul under the title of "The Polishing of the Hearts".

References