As country director in Vietnam, Ms Kwakwa will focus on three top priorities. Firstly, she will direct the WB-funded programme in Vietnam and implement the Regional Integration Assistance (IDA) programme. She will also oversee the transition to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), including both lending and policy consultation activities, as well as promoting dialogue with the Vietnamese Government. Her last remit is to actively support efforts to harmonise dealings between the government and donors.

Ms Kwakwa joined the WB in 1989 and since then has worked as an economic expert in many countries, including Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

She later joined a team that produced the 2000 World Development Report on “Attacking Poverty”. She has also been the World Bank’s Lead Economist for Nigeria.