All you need to know!

International organizations are one of the hot topics that are usually asked in MBA exams. You can expect at least one or two questions on these. They are definitely easier to score since it’s an exhaustive list and if you remember some of these top International organizations and their details, you should be good to go. Read ahead for the list of the main International organization and their details:

 

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1. United Nations Organization (UN):

Headquarters: New York, US

Founded: 24th October 1945

Secretary-General: Antonio Guterres

About the organization: The UN organization aims to maintain international peace and security and is focused on developing friendly relations among nations. They also aim to achieve international cooperation and act as a centre for harmonizing the actions of various member nations. The five permanent members of the UN are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

2. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) :

Headquarters: New York, US

Founded: 11th December 1946

Current Head: Catherine M. Russell

About the organization: UNICEF has the responsibility of providing humanitarian and developmental aid to all children worldwide.

3. World Health Organization (WHO):

Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland

Founded: 7 April 1948

Current Head: Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

About the organization: WHO is responsible for international public health and cooperation. It is an agency of the UN.

4. World Economic Forum:

Headquarters: Cologny, Switzerland

Founded: 24 January 1971

Current Head: Professor Klaus Schwab

About the organization: WEF is an International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. They are committed to improving the economic state of the world.

5. International Monetary Fund (IMF):

Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States

Founded: July 1944

Current Head: Kristalina Georgieva

About the organization: The IMF works towards fostering global monetary cooperation that helps facilitates international trade and economic growth amongst countries.

6. World Bank :

Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States

Founded: July 1944

Current Head:   Ajay Banga

  • President of WV: David Malpass
  • Country Director for the World Bank in India: Junaid Kamal Ahmad
  • Group Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer: Anshula Kant

About the organization: The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides grants to developing countries in order to aid their economic development and help fight poverty worldwide through sustainable solutions. It has an extended family of five international organizations under it:

  1. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
  2. International Development Association (IDA)
  3. International Finance Corporation (IFC)
  4. Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
  5. International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)

7. World Trade Organization :

Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland

Founded: 1 January 1995

Current Head: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

About the organization: The WTO deals with the global rules of trade between nations and helps in regulating international trade between member nations.

8. United Nations Education Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO):

Headquarters: Paris, France

Founded: 16 November 1945

Current Head: Audrey Azoulay

About the organization: UNESCO is an agency of the UN that aims at building world peace, eradicating poverty, establishing sustainable development, and intercultural dialogue through education between nations of the world.

9. South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

Headquarters: Kathmandu, Nepal

Founded: 8 December 1985, (in Dhaka, Bangladesh)

Current Head: Secretary-General – Golam Sarwar

About the organization: SAARC is a regional intergovernmental organization of countries in South Asia. Its member states are India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.

10. Association of South East Nations (ASEAN)

Headquarters: Jakarta, Indonesia

Founded: 8 August 1967

Current Head: Dr. Kao Kim Hourn

About the organization: ASEAN is an intergovernmental organization in Southeast Asia, which promotes and facilitates overall integration among its members. It has a total of 10 members.

11. Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) :

Headquarters: Paris, France

Founded:  30 September 1961

Current Head: OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann.

About the organization: The OECD is an intergovernmental economic organization with 37 member countries, that aims towards stimulating an environment of economic progress and world trade.

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12. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB):

Headquarters:  Beijing, China

Founded:  January 2016 (began operations)

Current Head: Jin Liqun

About the organization: The AIIB is a financial institution that aims to support the building of infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific region and provides funding to countries for this purpose.

13. New Development Bank (BRICS Development Bank)

Headquarters:  Shanghai, China:

Founded: 21 July 2015

Current Head: Dilma Rousseff

About the organization: The New development bank is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states to support public or private projects through various financial aid.

14. Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Headquarter: Manila, Philippines

Founded: 19 December 1966,

Current Head: Masatsugu Asakawa

About the organization: ADB is a regional development bank established with the aim to foster growth and cooperation among countries in the Asia-Pacific Region.

15. African development bank (AfDB):

Headquarter: Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

Founded: 10 September 196

Current Head: Akinwumi A. Adesina

About the organization: The AfDB is a financial institution that contributes to poverty reduction and economic and social development in the least developed African countries.

16. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) :

Headquarters: Gland, Switzerland

Founded: 29 April 1961

Current Head: Kirsten Schuijt

About the organization: WWF is a global organization that works in the field of wilderness preservation and environmental protection.

17. United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

Headquarters:  ‎Vienna, Austria

Founded: 17 November 1966

Current Head: Gerd Müller

About the organization:  UNIDO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in economic and industrial development.

18. International Atomic Agency – Vienna, Austria

Headquarters: Vienna, Austria

Founded:  29 July 1957

Current Head: Rafael Mariano Grossi

About the organization:  The International Atomic Agency facilitates an environment of peaceful use of nuclear energy and ensures that such use is not for any military purpose, including for nuclear weapons.

19. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) – Vienna, Austria

Headquarters: Vienna, Austria

Founded: 14 September 1960

Current Head:  Secretary General - Haitham al-Ghais

About the organization: co-ordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its member countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets

A list of some other international organizations and their headquarters are:

  • United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD)

    • Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland

  • International Maritime Organization (IMO)

    • Headquarters: London, UK

  • Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

    • Headquarters: Singapore

  • Commonwealth of Nations

    • Headquarters: London, UK

  • North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

    • Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium

  • International Cricket Council (ICC)

    • Headquarters: Dubai, UAE

  • International Olympic Committee (IOC)

    • Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland

  • Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)

    • Headquarters: Zurich, Switzerland

  • Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)

    • Headquarters: The Hague, The Netherlands

  • Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

    • Headquarters: Rome, Italy

  • International Court of Justice (ICJ)

    • Headquarters: The Hague, The Netherlands

  • World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

    • Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland

  • World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

    • Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland

I hope you found this article on the list of International Organizations and their headquarters useful. Happy learning!

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