The new World Bank Country Director for Liberia, Mr. Pierre Frank Laporte, on Thursday arrived in Liberia for a three-day official visit.
While in Liberia he will explore avenues to further deepen dialogue between the Bank and various Liberian stakeholders, as well as opportunities to promote growth and economic diversification.
Mr. Laporte will visit World Bank-supported and other project sites.
Laporte, who serves as Country Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, will meet and hold discussions with senior officials of the Liberian Government, including Finance and Development Planning Minister Samuel Tweah, Executive Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia, Nathaniel Patray and development partners.
The World Bank Country Director is expected to host a roundtable with the Government and the Bank’s Health Team before departing the country.
Prior to joining the Bank, Laporte, a national of Seychelles, held several key positions in the Seychelles government, including Governor of the Central Bank, and later Minister for Finance, Trade and Investment.
Laporte is also a former International Monetary Fund Economist and Fund Resident Representative and worked in the private sector as Chief Executive Officer of the SACOS Insurance Group in Seychelles.
In his new position, Laporte’s top three priorities will be to lead the Bank’s strategic dialogue with Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone and support the implementation of the World Bank’s Africa Region
priorities.
He will seek to deepen the policy dialogue and partnership with governments and key stakeholders; and oversee the delivery and implementation of the lending and non-lending portfolios.
Laporte holds a Masters’ Degree in Economics (with Distinction) from the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Economics with Computing from the University of Surrey also in UK.
TSS/abj/APA