Kathmandu, July 4:

World Bank (WB) president Robert B Zoellick appointed Isabel Guerrero vice-presid-ent for South Asia region. Guerrero took over from her predecessor Praful Patel on Wednesday.

Guerrero, who moves to her new position from that of county director for India, joined WB in 1982. Early in her career she worked as a country economist for the Philippines, Myanmar, Morocco and Central Asian republics with a focus on macroeconomics, trade and poverty.

“For the past 11 years she has been a country director for Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru (1997-2002); Colombia and Mexico (2002-2007) and most recently India, where she took up the position in March 2007,” states a press release.

“It is a most special privilege to be invited to take on this role in one of the most important regions of the world as measured by the development agenda,” said Guerrero.

“South Asia is a region of extraordinary hope as demonstrated by its aggressive growth over the past decade. It is also a region in which the range of profound human challenges stand out starkly,” she said.