Auguste Kouame appointed as the World Bank’s Director for India

02 Aug 2022 CW Team

On August 1, Auguste Tano Kouame succeeded Junaid Kamal Ahmad as World Bank Country Director for India. Ahmad had completed his five-year term in India.

Auguste Tano Kouame was the World Bank's country director for Turkiye prior to his appointment to the South Asian country.

According to the World Bank, Kouame led the expansion of the international bank's program and deepened support for the country's climate agenda.

From January 2017 to April 2019, he was a director in the department of Human Development and Economic Management in the World Bank Group's Independent Evaluation Group (IEG).

"The World Bank has had the privilege of supporting India’s development achievements for more than 75 years. I look forward to continuing this fruitful partnership at this critical time, as the country recovers from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to build a more resilient future," Auguste Tano Kouame said.

He stated that the World Bank would back India's ambitions to become an upper middle-income country and a global leader on climate change.

He is a Cote d'Ivoire national with a degree in applied economics from ENSAR-Paris and a PhD in economics from EHESS-Paris. He is also a Harvard University graduate.

"As India takes over the presidency of the G20 later this year, the Bank, globally, looks forward to supporting India in this leadership role," he said.

The world banks' net commitments to India stood at $21.86 billion (IBRD $18.76 billion, IDA $30 billion) as of July 2022, spread across 99 projects.

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