Muhammad A. Agha

Muhammad A. Agha is a Syrian entrepreneur and business consultant who heads the Global Compact program in Damascus, part of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Early life

Born in the coastal city of Aleppo, Agha grew up under the towering influence of his father, Abdulkader Agha, a decorated officer in the Syrian Army who was Chief of Missile Command during the era of President Hafez al-Assad. Agha senior was posted as military attache for Syria in the former USSR during the Cold War, where his son grew up in Moscow. The young Agha obtained his undergraduate studies at Davenport University and an MA in international politics and economics from Georgetown. He trained at Harvard and the University of Michigan, beginning his career as a freelancer with Middle Eastern investment groups based in Washington, D.C. He returned to Syria in 2006 to launch the first business-intelligence practice in the region, with a Syria-focus, called Strategic Axis Advisors.

Services

In 2007, he was elected as director for UNDP projects in Syria, the most recent of which was Global Compact,^[1][2] an initiative started by UN Secretary General Kofi Anan. The project aims at a more sustainable and inclusive business practice in Syria, encouraging the private sector to get engaged in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Agha was elected as secretary-general of Syria's National Advisory Council for Global Compact, a team that includes heavyweights in the business community, like Rateb Shallah, doyen of the Damascus Chamber of Commerce (DCC). Other members include private education firms, and both government sector and UN officials.

Current life

A native of the oil-rich Deir ez-Zour district, he currently resides in Damascus and is active with several NGOs including the Syrian Business Council (SBC) and the Syrian Young Entrepreneurs Association (SYEA). He is also a lecturer at the Faculty of International Relations at Kalamoon University in the Syrian midland, next to the town of Homs.

References

1. ^ Agha, Muhammad A. (2009) "The Syria Case: Challenges of Engaging the Private Sector", Global Compact Network Syria, retrieved 2011-06-27
2. ^ "Global Compact Contact", United Nations Syria, retrieved 2011-06-27

External Links

• UN Global Compact (www.unglobalcompact.org and www.undp.org.sy/globalcompact)
• Strategic Axis Advisors (www.strategicaxis.biz)

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Name	Agha, Muhammad A.
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