Qimiao Fan started on Monday as the World Bank’s new Country Director for Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan and brings a wide range of development experience to the job.

Fan’s appointment was communicated to senior Government of Nepal officials including Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel by Annette Dixon, World Bank South Asia Vice President, during her visit to Kathmandu last month.

A Chinese national, Fan joined the World Bank in 1991 and has held leadership positions in different countries and regions of the world. Prior to taking his current assignment, Fan served as the Country Director for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova.  From 1998 to 2002, Fan took leave from the World Bank to work in the private sector in various senior executive positions in China. After returning to the World Bank, Fan worked as a Program Leader for the Investment Climate Program in the World Bank Institute and later as the Country Manager for Cambodia.

Prior to joining the World Bank, Fan worked as a researcher in development and transition economics at the London School of Economics and as a policy researcher at Jiangxi Institute of Finance and Economics in China. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Birmingham, England. He has published widely on topics related to investment climate and problems of economies in transition.

In his current role as the World Bank Country Director for Nepal, Fan will oversee implementation of the World Bank’s Country Partnership Strategy for Nepal, including support for post-earthquake recovery. In pursuing the World Bank’s mission of eliminating poverty and promoting shared prosperity, he will also lead the policy dialogue with government counterparts, civil society and other partners.

World Bank support has helped Nepal to achieve remarkable progress in many areas such as reducing poverty, improving health and education outcomes, expanding connectivity and building infrastructure. The World Bank’s current portfolio in Nepal stands at nearly US$1.8 billion with 23 ongoing projects.