UN development programme to move 400 New York-based staff to Europe

Photo Credit/Facebook@UnitedNationsDevelopmentProgramme

The United Nations Development Programme will move close to 400 staff from its New York headquarters to Germany and Spain, it said late on Monday, following funding cuts by the United States.

"The move is part of an ongoing effort to adapt to an evolving financial and development landscape, strengthen partnerships, and maximize UNDP's ability to support the world's most vulnerable people," the organisation said.

Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in a separate release that the move, which will be carried out over two years, shows confidence in German diplomacy as "the UN system and multilateral principles are under pressure".

US President Donald Trump last year slashed US foreign development aid by more than 80 percent as part of a government overhaul led by billionaire Elon Musk.

The UNDP said almost 400 staff, amounting to a "substantial share of positions currently based in its headquarters", would be affected, with about 300 transferring to Bonn, Germany and about 100 to Madrid, Spain.

The UN already has 27 institutions and around 1,200 employees in Bonn, the German government said in its statement.