World Bank appoints
new Country Manager

Lebanon office to operate under single leadership

The World Bank Group has appointed Enrique Blanco Armas as its Country Manager for Lebanon. He will be working closely with government officials, the private sector, civil society, and development partners.

Armas will be reporting to Jean-Christophe Carret, who will remain in his position as the World Bank’s Division Director for the Middle East Department (Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria).

A Spanish national, Armas was Manager for the Strategy and Operations Unit of the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries. He previously held several roles at the World Bank including Lead Economist for the Western Balkans and for Pakistan, and Senior Economist for Mozambique and Indonesia. He was also Manager of the Strategy and Operations Unit in the IDA Mobilization and IBRD Corporate Finance Department.

The bank said in a statement that its local office will now operate under a single Country Manager for the World Bank’s institutions including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), IDA, International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

“This new role will unify country-level leadership across the different arms of the institution to help drive sustainable recovery and development and create jobs by supporting both public and private sector priorities,” the World Bank said.

Armas said: “Strengthening our partnerships with the government, the private sector, and development partners is vital to supporting Lebanon as it navigates the path toward a sustainable and inclusive recovery.”

Before joining the World Bank in 2005, Armas served as an Overseas Development Institute (ODI) Fellow in Mozambique and worked at the Institute of Development Studies in Sussex

He holds an MA in Development Economics from the University of Sussex (UK), and a BS in Economics from the University of Augsburg (Germany).