Biography of H.E. Wahidullah Waissi
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
His Excellency Wahidullah Waissi is a career diplomat and Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the Commonwealth of Australia since March 2017. In this position he is also accredited to New Zealand and Fiji. After Taliban's takeover in August 2021, the Ambassador, diplomats, and the Embassy of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Canberra continue in fulfilling diplomatic responsibilities under the Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations of 1961, operating outside the realm of Taliban influence.
Mr. Waissi’s professional work focuses on international economic development and diplomacy since 2005. At the Foreign Ministry he served as a Senior Advisor to the Minister on regional cooperation and later as a Director-General for Economic Cooperation for four years, where he was responsible to coordinate and promote regional mega projects from negotiation to its implementation phases, e.g. the Chabahar transit agreement between Afghanistan, Iran and India, and the Lapis Lazuli transport corridor connecting Afghanistan to Europe between Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, the TAPI Gas Pipeline, CASA1000 electricity project.
Mr. Waissi also worked as a Director and Formulation Manager for Afghanistan’s National Development Strategy and Afghanistan’s MDGs and SDGs from 2005 to 2014. He has been involved in coordination and organizing of 24 national and international conferences for development process of Afghanistan between years 2004 to 2016 in Kabul, Berlin, Paris, Tokyo, Rome, London, Bonn, Brussels, New Delhi, Istanbul, Lisbon, Moscow and New York. Mr. Waissi also served as National Focal Point for the International Contact Group (ICG) from 2012 to 2017. The ICG was consisting of Special Representatives to Afghanistan and founded and co-chaired by Germany and the United States.
As part of his diplomatic career, Mr. Waissi attended five UNGAs from 2012 to 2016; together with OECD worked on 2011 Busan High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness as a member of the Asia-Pacific Community of Practice from 2009 to 2012; and participated at the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development as member of government delegation in 2012.
Mr. Waissi is co-founder and Chair of the Green Club, a voluntary based community for environment protection and green economy.
Mr. Waissi is a PhD Scholar of the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy at the Australian National University. He holds a MA in international Development Economics from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts (2005). He is also a visiting scholar of the Johns Hopkins University/CACI of Silk Road.
Mr. Waissi is married and has two daughters and a son.
He is on X (former Twitter): @WahidWaissi