18 June 2003
UGANDAN
GUJARATI HEADS WORLD BANK IN SOUTH ASIA
From Our
Delhi Bureau
NEW DELHI: The World Bank on Wednesday
announced the appointment of Ugandan national Praful C Patel as its
new Vice President for the South Asia
region. His career of nearly three decades with the bank has
placed him at the heart of its poverty reduction mission in
nearly every region of the world.
A senior corporate
leader in the World Bank, Patel has worked on a wide variety
of issues including urban development,
infrastructure, private sector development, the financial
sector and macro-economic management. He has worked in regions
as varied as Africa, East Asia, Latin America, North Africa and
the Middle East.
"I am honored and
deeply challenged by this appointment," said Patel.
"South Asia is a region of unique history and culture and
rich human resources. It lies at the fulcrum of the many
development challenges we face in our world and its success is
critical to the reduction of global poverty and a stable and
prosperous future for all. I look forward to visiting the
region very soon and learning what I can do to support its
ambitions."
Patel joined the World Bank in 1974 through
its Young Professional Program after completing his higher
education at the University of Nairobi in Kenya and receiving a
Master's Degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
in the United States. He has since provided strategic
leadership in managerial and corporate positions in various pats of
the World Bank.
Patel was a primary driver of the Bank's
Africa Capacity Building Program and he has assumed
senior management oversight of complex
Bank-supported initiatives in countries confronting major
macro-economic shocks, post-conflict challenges and
international cross-boundary issues. In
Southern Africa he piloted the Bank's
increasing shift to country dialogue based on
knowledge management and in support of local capacity.
He has
also been a leading voice in the Bank
as it grappled with the challenge of high-risk,
high-reward infrastructure projects like the
Chad-Cameroon Pipeline Project. Other
responsibilities in recent years have included designing
and delivering a $700 million program
of assistance for Ethiopia following the cessation of hostilities
with Eritrea; advising Zambia on addressing its copper crisis;
providing management and oversight of a Nile Basin
Initiative.
Previously, Patel held a number of management
positions in the World Bank, including Director of the Office of the
Africa Regional Vice President, Director of Finance, Private
Sector and Infrastructure for the Africa Region; Division Chief
for Infrastructure Operations in the East
Asia and Pacific Region; and program coordinator for the former
Europe, Middle East and North Africa Region.
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