The World Bank has announced the appointment of a Senegalese national, Dr. Ndiamé Diop as its new Country Direct for Nigeria.
Dr. Diop succeeds Shubham Chaudhuri, who recently completed his term.
Announcing the appointment in a statement released on Monday, the bank said Dr. Diop is expected to leverage his extensive experience to foster development and economic growth in Nigeria, building on the successes of his predecessor.
Prior to his appointment, Dr. Diop served as the World Bank Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, operating out of Manila. During his tenure, he significantly increased the Bank’s financing to the Philippines, more than tripling the support to advance critical economic reforms and bridge disparities in sectors such as nutrition, stunting, healthcare, social protection delivery, education, agriculture, and digital connectivity.
In his new position, Dr. Diop will lead the World Bank’s team in Nigeria, fostering policy dialogue and strengthening partnerships with the government and key stakeholders. He will oversee the delivery and implementation of both lending and non-lending support to the country.
Dr. Diop’s extensive experience within the World Bank includes several leadership roles; he previously served as Head of the Macroeconomics, Trade, and Investment unit for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, based in Jakarta and Bangkok, and as Lead Economist for Indonesia, Jordan, and Lebanon. Additionally, he held Country Economist roles in the Middle East and North Africa and served as the Bank’s Resident Representative for Tunisia from 2007 to 2010. He began his World Bank career in Washington, DC, in 2000 as a Young Professional.
An accomplished economist, he has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and books, focusing on fiscal policy and growth, monetary policy and inflation, macroeconomic policies, resilience to sudden stops in capital inflows, natural resource abundance, Dutch disease, and economic diversification.
Speaking of his new position, Dr. 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 States level by ensuring quality technical and financial support which will help accelerate progress for Nigeria’s development priorities.
“Nigeria is a dynamic and vibrant country which is significant for the entire sub region. 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.”
During his tenure in Malaysia, he supervised a significant Malaysia-funded knowledge program aimed at transitioning the country to a high-income economy through advanced economic analyses and technical assistance. He also played a pivotal role in engaging the Thai government to resume World Bank investment lending after a two-decade hiatus.