THE World Bank has appointed German national, Ozan Sevimli, as its new Resident Representative for Guyana and Jamaica.

The announcement, made on Monday, stated that Sevimli will be stationed in Kingston, Jamaica, and will focus on leading the World Bank policy dialogue and managing the country programs and teams to support development.

He holds a master degree in Business Administration from the University of Texas and a master degree in Labour Economics from the University of Applied Sciences of Mannheim. Since joining the Bank in 2004, he has held several positions which include his service at the Bank’s Africa Region and Europe and Central Asia Region.
Most recently, Sevimli served as the World Bank’s Program Coordinator for the South Caucasus based in Tbilisi, Georgia.

During his tenure in Guyana and Jamaica, he will work closely with the government, private sector and civil society.

He now replaces Galina Sotirova, a Bulgarian national, who held the position for the past four years. “I feel honored by this opportunity to help further expand and strengthen our excellent partnerships with both Guyana and Jamaica,” Sevimli said in a release from the Bank.

“I look forward to supporting both countries on their development priorities for boosting growth and prosperity and reducing poverty.”

The World Bank has taken note of Guyana as a middle-income country well-endowed with natural resources, fertile agricultural lands, bauxite, gold and tropical forests that cover over 80 per cent of the country.

It notes that the country’s economy is expected to grow some 4.6 per cent in 2019 and over 30 percent in 2020 due to oil production.