DAR ES SALAAM, September 12, 2014 — The Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer for the World Bank Group, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, will embark on the second leg of her official tour of Tanzania with a one-day visit to Zanzibar on Saturday, September 13.
Mrs. Indrawati will meet with Zanzibar President Dr. Ali Mohammed Shein, several ministers as well as other top Government officials. She will see firsthand the ongoing Bank-financed upgrading and rehabilitation of Zanzibar Airport which is of crucial importance in the country’s competitive tourism industry.
To further understand Zanzibar’s development challenges and priorities, Mrs. Indrawati will get the chance to interact with members of coastal communities in areas that were covered by the World Bank-supported Marine and Coastal Environmental Management Project which closed in 2013.
The World Bank currently supports Zanzibar’s development through various projects in urbanization and education and Mrs. Mulyani’s visit aims to underpin the Bank’s commitment as a partner in achieving the development goals spelled out in Mkakati wa Kukuza Uchumi na Kupunguza. Umasikini Zanzibar (MKUZA II).
“Zanzibar’s economy has greatly benefitted from the growth of its tourism sector over the past two decades,” said Philippe Dongier, the World Bank’s Country Director for Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda. “Investing in urban development will be essential to sustain and diversify growth, as more than half of the population resides in urban areas. The city is also at the heart of what makes Zanzibar a unique tourism destination. In her discussions, Mrs Mulyani will be keen to see how the World Bank Group can help achieve more progress in Zanzibar over the coming years.”
Before her appointment to her senior leadership role at the World Bank Group, Indrawati was Minister of Finance for Indonesia, one of Asia’s largest economies. Prior to that, as head of the Indonesian National Development Planning Agency, she coordinated government and international reconstruction efforts following its devastating 2004 tsunami.
