WORLD BANK REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT TO VISIT TANZANIA SEPT 27-28, 2021

Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa, Hafez Ghanem.

THE World Bank Regional Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa, Hafez Ghanem, will visit Tanzania from September 27-28, 2021.

During his visit, Dr. Ghanem will hold high level discussions with President Samia Suluhu Hassan and other senior government officials and development partners. He will also meet with private sector leaders and representatives of Tanzanian civil society.

 

Dr. Ghanem’s latest visit is his second to Tanzania as World Bank Vice President. It also follows on President Hassan’s bilateral meeting with World Bank Group President David Malpass in New York this week where they discussed Tanzania’s efforts to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerate vaccinations, and the country’s business environment and reforms being undertaken to facilitate private sector-led growth.

 

The World Bank financed portfolio in Tanzania includes 21 national projects with total net commitments of $4.8 billion. Key sectors supported include transport, urban development, education, energy, water, social protection, environment/natural resources, digital development, and governance. Tanzania is also part of five regional projects with its own total commitments reaching $698.3 million. These projects are supporting the energy, environment, and education sectors.

 

Dr Ghanem, an Egyptian and French national, is a development expert with over 30 years of experience. He leads relations with 26 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa and oversees over 280 projects totaling more than $49 billion. Under his leadership, the World Bank has supported inclusive growth and poverty reduction by financing projects that boost human capital, support private sector development, raise agricultural productivity, improve access to infrastructure, build resilience to climate change, and promote regional integration. 

Intensifying assistance for fragile and conflict-affected states, promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, and expanding access to electricity and digital services to promote economic development are core to his vision for the Eastern and Southern Africa Region. 

 

Dr. Ghanem has also served as Vice President of the World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa from 2015 to 2018, overseeing the World Bank’s engagement with 20 countries.