The newly appointed World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Dr Ndiamé Diop, assumed his new position on Monday in Abuja.
Diop, a Senegalese, is succeeding Shubham Chaudhuri, who completed his term in the same capacity.
A statement released by the World Bank on Monday noted that, prior to his posting to Nigeria, Diop served as the World Bank Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand, based in Manila.
“In this position, he more than tripled the Bank’s financing to the Philippines to scale up the Bank’s support to key economic reforms (policy-based budget support programs) and the nation’s endeavours to bridge disparities in various sectors, including nutrition, stunting, healthcare, social protection delivery, education, agriculture, and digital connectivity,” the statement said.
In Malaysia, Diop supervised the delivery of a large Malaysia-funded knowledge program aimed at helping the country become a high-income economy through cutting-edge economic analyses and technical assistance.
He also engaged the Thai government to resume World Bank investment lending after a pause of two decades.
Speaking on his new assignment, Diop said, “I am most excited to be leading the World Bank’s program in Nigeria, especially at this critical time when Nigeria has a significant opportunity to make progress towards improving its economy and delivering development outcomes for its citizens.
“I look forward to deepening our partnership with the Government of Nigeria at the federal and state level by ensuring quality technical and financial support which will help accelerate progress for Nigeria’s development priorities.”
Diop described Nigeria as a dynamic and vibrant country which is significant for the entire sub-region.
He emphasized the World Bank’s resolve to lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty, amid biting economic hardship in the oil-rich West African country.
“The World Bank Group is most committed to working with the government, development partners and citizens to realize a thriving economy where jobs and economic prospects are created, and millions of Nigerians are lifted out of poverty.”
In his new position, Diop will lead the World Bank’s team in Nigeria and deepen policy dialogue and partnership with the government and key stakeholders. He will also oversee the delivery and implementation of lending and non-lending support to Nigeria.
Diop has held several leadership positions in the World Bank, including Head of the Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment unit for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, based in Jakarta and Bangkok; Lead Economist for Indonesia, based in Jakarta; Lead economist roles for Jordan and Lebanon; and Country Economist roles in the Middle East and North Africa.
He served as the Bank’s Resident Representative for Tunisia between 2007 and 2010.
Diop joined the World Bank in Washington DC in 2000 as a Young Professional.
As an economist, Dr Ndiamé Diop has published in peer-reviewed journals, as well as books on fiscal policy and growth, monetary policy and inflation, macro policies and resilience to sudden stops in capital inflows, natural resource abundance, Dutch disease, and economic diversification.
