Junaid Kamal Ahmad has taken over as the World Bank’s new Country Director for India, replacing Onno Ruhl, who completed his four-year term.
Junaid, a Bangladeshi national, joined the Bank as a Young Professional in 1991, working as an Economist in Africa and Eastern Europe before joining the Africa Infrastructure Unit.
Prior to joining the President’s office in January 2016, Junaid was the Senior Director for the Water Global Practice, a position he held since the creation of the Global Practices in July 2014. He spent 10 years in the field, first as the Deputy Resident Representative and Principal Economist in Johannesburg, and then as Regional Team Leader of the Water and Sanitation Program in New Delhi. In 2004, he was a team member of the World Development Report (WDR): Making Services Work for Poor People. From 2004-2008, he was the Sector Manager for Social Development in South Asia Region and subsequently for Urban Water & Sanitation before taking on the latter responsibility for the Africa Region in 2010. He was also the Director for Sustainable Development in the Middle East and North Africa Region, a position he held from 2012-2014.
He holds a PhD in Applied Economics from Stanford University, an MPA from Harvard University, and a BA in Economics from Brown University.
India is the World Bank Group’s largest client, it said. As of June 2016, the bank’s net commitments to India stood at $27 billion (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development $16 billion, International Development Association $11 billion) across 95 projects.
