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.

###