Kathmandu, July 2 : Mr. Faris Hadad-Zervos has been appointed as the World Bank’s (WB) new Country Director for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, on Wednesday (July 1).
Based in the sub-regional office in Kathmandu, Nepal, he will lead World Bank support to Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, overseeing the current total portfolio of around $5.5 billion.
Mr. Hadad-Zervos succeeds Ms. Idah Z. Pswarayi-Riddihough, who will be taking on a new World Bank assignment. He previously served as the World Bank Country Manager for Nepal. A US national, he joined the World Bank in 1996 and held country manager positions in Malaysia and Bolivia.
He also served as Manager of the Technical Cooperation Program with the Gulf Cooperation Countries, Head of Mission for Iraq, and Operations Manager for the West Bank and Gaza.
Mr. Hadad-Zervos’ appointment comes at a time when governments of the three countries must quickly address both the immediate and longer-term health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis.
“It is critical to protect lives and livelihoods and support economic recovery as countries are fighting the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis,”said Mr.Hadad-Zervos. “My first priority is to ensure that World Bank-financed programs help alleviate the health and economic impacts of COVID-19, create jobs, and foster inclusive and sustainable growth in the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, and I look forward to working with governments, development partners, the private sector, and civil society.”
The World Bank is working particularly with the Government of Nepal to address immediate health needs of the COVID-19 pandemic through a$29 million emergency response project, while restructuring about 20 percent of the existing portfolio to meet needs arising from the crisis.
The World Bank is also part of an advisory panel, together with other multilateral development banks, to support the government in preparing a relief, restructuring and resilience plan to respond effectively to the COVID-19 crisis.The World Bank portfolio in Nepal is comprised of 25 active projects amounting to about $3 billion in key sectors such as infrastructure, human development, finance and governance.
