Brings in current Principal Secretary to PM, Syed Tauqir Hussain Shah.
ISLAMABAD: PM Shehbaz Sharif appoints Tauqir Shah as new World Bank Executive Director, replacing the incumbent before their term ends in October. Authority has chosen Shah from a panel of three candidates proposed by Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The Establishment Division’s notification appoints Syed Tauqir Hussain Shah, currently the Principal Secretary to the PM, as the Executive/Alternate Executive Director at the World Bank for a four-year term, effective immediately.
Due to hisPeople anticipated Shah’s appointment due to his distinguished track record distinguished track record, Shah’s appointment was anticipated. He won the PET countervailing duty case against the EU while serving as Pakistan’s WTO ambassador from 2015 to 2018.
Shah is the sole serving Pakistani bureaucrat. He has acted as a judge on a dispute resolution panel tasked with resolving a trade dispute between the United States and Russia, along with 23 other parties.
Moreover, he actively represented Pakistan in Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) negotiations. He served as Pakistan’s representative on the Joint Advisory Group (JAG) of the International Trade Centre (ITC).
The notification of Shah’s appointment comes ahead of the current government’s term conclusion. After the tenure of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif concludes, Shah is expected to assume his new role. Currently, Naveed Kamran Baloch serves as the World Bank’s Executive Director, with his term set to end in October.
The decision to replace Baloch was due to domestic reasons. His appointment was for shorter period of 22 months instead of the usual four years. Baloch played a significant role in securing emergency funding from the World Bank during the pandemic.
As the Executive Director, Shah will represent several countries on the World Bank’s board. He will be advocating for development projects, providing input on macroeconomic reports. He will be addressing global economic issues, and defending quotas and voting rights.
Following the establishment division’s notification, Pakistan will present a case to the World Bank board for the appointment of a new executive director. Shah will assume his position upon the completion of the appointment procedure.
Shah’s immediate task will be to ensure the approval of budget support loans from the World Bank. Furthermore, he will be addressing the stalled relations between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Pakistan is working to convince the World Bank to separately approve two policy loans, the RISE-II and PACE-II.
