On 25 January 2018, the Institute for Sustainable Global Development, Tsinghua University (TUSDG) formally appointed Nikhil Seth, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, as an International Advisory Committee Member for a term of three years, and Professor Xue Lan, Director of TUSDG, presented him with a letter of appointment on behalf of Chairman Yang Bin at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Professor Xue Lan, Director of TUSDG, presenting the letter of appointment to Mr. Nikhil Seth

Nikhil Seth

On 8 June 2015, former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Mr. Nikhil Seth as United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).

Prior to his appointment as Executive Director of UNITAR, Nikhil Seth was Director of the Division for Sustainable Development of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) of the United Nations Secretariat in New York. He has been with the United Nations since 1993, serving as Special Assistant and Chief of Office to the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs (September 1993 - June 2001), Chief of the Policy Coordination Branch in the Division for Secretary of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Support and Coordination (June 2001-January 2003), Secretary of the ECOSOC and the Second Committee of the General Assembly ( February 2003-August 2006).