World Bank Appoints New Country Resident Representative For UAE

The World Bank has announced the appointment of Mrs. Iva Hamel, a Bulgarian national, as its new Resident Representative for the World Bank in UAE, effective Aug 16, 2021.

Mrs. Hamel, Joined the Bank in 2005. In her most recent post, as a Senior Private Sector Specialist with the Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation (FCI) Global Practice of the World Bank, she led reform programs in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and South Asia tackling policy reforms in business environment, entrepreneurship, SME development and gender. She also served as the global lead for women’s economic empowerment under the Women, Business and the Law Reform Advisory Program and has led successful reform programs supporting legal rights for women in the Middle East and South Asia.

“The UAE is a dynamic economy with a strong track record of economic reforms and achievements and is among the leading economies globally in tackling the COVID crisis,” said Hamel, “I look forward to working with our partners in government, civil society, the private sector, and international organizations to share the UAE’s good practices globally and leverage the Bank’s
global expertise in areas of policy priority to support the UAE authorities."

The World Bank Office in Abu Dhabi, established in September 2019, aims to enhance the institutional relationship with the UAE Government at operational and country partnership levels. Technical cooperation between the UAE and the World Bank has been ongoing for over 20 years, during which the World Bank showcased UAE achievements, shared UAE lessons of experience with the rest of the world and provided advisory services for several governmental institutions.

The partnership between the country and the World Bank was deepened further by continuous dialogue and consultation with UAE Leadership on international efforts to address regional and global economic challenges through various initiatives