KATHMANDU, July 13, 2011 – The World Bank has appointed Ms. Ellen Goldstein as Country Director for Nepal and Bangladesh.
Goldstein, a US national, has been serving as the Country Director for Bangladesh since November 2009.
Goldstein joined the World Bank in 1988 as a macroeconomist and has since worked with Bank programs in South Asia, West Africa, Europe and Central Asia, and the Caribbean. She has served as Country Director for programs in nine West African nations. She has also served as Director for Quality Assurance and Results at the African Development Bank in Tunisia.
“I am honored and excited to serve as the World Bank Country Director at a time of momentous changes in Nepal,” said Goldstein. “I look forward to working with the Government and people of Nepal during this important transition.”
Goldstein has a Masters Degree in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University in the US. She also has a Masters Degree in Public Affairs from Princeton University in the US where her subjects were International Economics and Development Studies.
In a letter officially communicating Ms. Goldstein’s appointment to the Government of Nepal, the World Bank said the merger of the Country Director positions for Nepal and Bangladesh is expected to create synergies across the two country programs for better delivery of development results. “The size and scope of the Nepal program and Country Office will be unaffected by this decision. The Nepal program will be managed on a day-to-day basis by a Country Manager stationed in Kathmandu who will serve as the representative of the World Bank Group in Nepal,” it said.
