The UN Development Programme (UNDP) will relocate about 300 jobs from its headquarters in New York to the German city of Bonn, located in the western part of the country. Another approximately 100 jobs will be moved to Madrid, UNDP announced on Monday, according to LETA citing DPA.
The exact schedule for the relocation of jobs has not yet been announced.
UNDP operates in approximately 170 countries and dependent territories. The organization employs around 22,000 staff, of which more than 19,000 work in national offices and regional centers.
Bonn, the former capital of the Federal Republic of Germany, is already home to 27 UN agencies with a total staff of about 1,200 people. It is one of the key European centers of the UN alongside Geneva and Vienna.
Bonn hosts the headquarters of the UN Climate Change Secretariat, the United Nations Volunteers Programme, and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.
German Foreign Minister Johan Wadephul stated that this step by UNDP "strengthens Bonn's status as a location for UN institutions" and "sends an important political signal of trust in Germany's foreign policy — especially at a time when the UN system and the principles of multilateralism are under pressure."
"Germany remains a defender and active participant in international cooperation — because it is important for our security, freedom, and well-being," Wadephul added.
The UNDP headquarters will remain in New York, where regional offices, including those for Europe, as well as representations of individual states, are also located.
