Washington August 25, 2008 – Eduardo Somensatto will be the new World Bank Country Manager in Colombia, as announced on Thursday by Pamela Cox, Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean of the multilateral institution with headquarters in Washington.

Somensatto, a Brazilian national, has more than two decades of experience working for the World Bank in various positions, such as Country Manager in Ecuador and Guatemala, as well as Consultant in the Economic Policy Sector of the aforementioned Vice Presidency.

He joined the World Bank in 1988 as an economist in the Department of Economic Analysis and Projections. He graduated as an economist from the University of Michigan, and has a Masters Degree in Economy as well as a Doctorate in Philosophy from Georgetown University.

¨Eduardo Somensatto is up against a very important challenge: consolidating the recently approved Country Partnership Strategy 2008 - 2011, which was structured around Colombia’s National Development Plan which contemplates an active program of credits for approximately US$ 1,000 million per year, as well as services in technical assistance and consultancy", said Axel van Trotsenburg, World Bank Country Director for Colombia and Mexico.

The Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) was approved in April by the WB Board of Directors and it establishes the work and the range of measures that will be undertaken during the 2008 – 2011 period, developed jointly by the multilateral organization and the Colombian government.

Based on the National Development Plan and its six main pillars (peace, security, equity, high and sustainable growth, environmental sustainability and good governance), it focuses on flexible programming and risk management, rapid response, innovative analytical products prepared jointly, sub national finances, public associations – privates ones, contingency credits and insurance mechanisms.

"We are positive that Somensatto´s presence in the country will help us maintain, not only the level of fluid and constant dialogue that we already have with the government, but to allow us to more closely support the persistent challenges in terms of extreme poverty and profound inequality that continue to overwhelm the country", added van Trotsenburg¨.

 

 

 

 

During this week, van Trotsenburg and Somensatto will meet with Colombian Government authorities, representatives of the Bank of the Republic, leaders of opinions, as well as visiting some of the projects that the World Bank is financing in Colombia.

For more information on the World Bank in Colombia, please visit:

http://www.worldbank.org/co