DHAKA, April 25, 2011: Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Managing Director, World Bank Group will arrive in Dhaka on April 26, 2011 to commence her three-day visit to Bangladesh. This will be Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s second visit to Bangladesh since assuming her responsibilities; her earlier visit was in March 2008. In addition to her corporate responsibilities and oversight of the Africa and South Asia Regions, Dr. Okonjo- Iweala is also the Chair of the World Bank Global Food Crisis Response Program.
She will hold high-level meetings with the Government of Bangladesh on the country’s development priorities for transformative and inclusive growth. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s engagements include an audience with the Honorable Prime Minister and meetings with the Honorable Ministers of Finance and Agriculture. She will also meet other senior Government officials, civil society and private sector representatives.
She will travel to the Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project site where she will meet project officials, visit beneficiaries at resettlement sites, and join the signing ceremony of the $1.2 billion IDA credit. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala will also attend the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Asian University for Women at Chittagong and will visit several World Bank Group supported operations around the Dhaka area to assess the results being accomplished.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala became the Managing Director of World Bank Group in 2007. From 2003 to 2006, she served as Finance Minister and later as Foreign Affairs Minister of Nigeria. Her contributions as Finance Minister are internationally recognized. Notable among these are implementation of home-grown economic reforms that secured Nigeria macro-economic stability and contributed to a tripling of the economic growth rate. Prior to that, she served in senior management positions at the World Bank, including as Vice President and Corporate Secretary and as a Country Director in Southeast Asia.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala has received numerous awards, and was named as one of the 100 most powerful women in the world by Forbes Magazine. She has been a powerful voice worldwide on behalf of girls’ education and women’s economic empowerment.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala will leave Dhaka on April 29, 2011 early morning.
