New World Bank Country Director for the European Union

BRUSSELS  – Anna Akhalkatsi is the World Bank’s new Country Director for the European Union, based in Brussels.

Ms. Akhalkatsi will lead the Bank’s dialogue with EU client countries and the EU institutions, and will oversee operational and knowledge engagement with governments, stakeholders, and partners to advance their development objectives, working closely with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) to strengthen the World Bank Group’s engagement with the private sector.

“I am eager to work with the Bank’s expanding network of partners in the EU and to continue to build and share knowledge that drives impactful development outcomes and inclusive growth, in Europe and around the world,” said Ms. Akhalkatsi. “Collaborating on global public goods to find new, innovative ways to lift people out of poverty and advance effective responses to the climate crisis are core to the Bank’s engagement with the EU.”

Ms. Akhalkatsi’s most recent assignment was as Country Manager for Romania and Hungary in the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia Vice Presidency. A Georgian national, Ms. Akhalkatsi joined the Bank in 1999 as an Economist in the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Unit in the World Bank Office in Tbilisi, Georgia. She has since held various positions, including Head of IFC office in Georgia, Program Lead for IFC’s Advisory Services, and IBRD Country Manager for Moldova.

Before joining the World Bank Group, Ms. Akhalkatsi worked at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and the Parliament of Georgia, as well as in private-sector consulting. She served on several boards, including the EastWest Institute and the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA), for which she is a founding member.