Kathmandu. Johannes Jatt has been appointed as the new Vice President for the South Asia Region by the World Bank. Jatt will replace Martin Reiser and his appointment will come into effect from July 1, 2025.

Under Jatt’s leadership, the World Bank will continue to support the South Asian region on issues such as job creation, climate and disaster mitigation, human capital development and private investment mobilization.

As regional vice president for South Asia, Jatt will manage the World Bank’s relations with Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

It will monitor a portfolio of $39 billion worth of projects, technical support and financial resources operating in these areas.

Jatt, a Dutch citizen, joined the World Bank in 1999 and has held various positions since then. Recently, he was the World Bank Country Director for Brazil.

Prior to this, he was the Director of the Department of Strategy, Outcomes, Risk and Studies under the Office of the Vice President of Operations Policy and Country Service. He also served as country director for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, as well as Turkey, Comoros, Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles and Somalia.

“I am very happy to see the strong development progress that the South Asian region has made in the last 10 years,” Jatt said, adding, “I am excited to contribute to this new opportunity and again experience the affinity and cultural diversity of the people of the region.” ’

Jatt holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in philosophy from the University of Toronto, a law degree from Harvard University and a PhD in philosophy from Oxford University.

Jatt will be in New Delhi, India. The office in India will now serve as the new regional hub for the South Asia region.

The world bank is going to have an office in India in line with the concept of decentralization to make service delivery more effective and to establish a closer relationship with customers.