World Bank appoints new country manager for Thailand
The World Bank has appointed Fabrizio Zarcone as country manager of Thailand with effect from July 1 to help Thailand tackle poverty and boost prosperity.
Italian Zarcone succeeds Birgit Hansl, who served in the position for four years.
Zarcone will implement the World Bank Group-Thailand Country Partnership Framework (CPF), which is focused on key structural economic and social reforms to end poverty and boost prosperity.
He also will be the lead negotiator between the World Bank and the government sector, civil society sector, private sector, and other partners.
The CPF for 2019-22 supports Thailand’s transformation towards greater inclusion, resilience and competitiveness. It is focusing on supporting Thailand integrate with every group of society, promoting competition and innovation by helping improve the business environment, economic institutions, and infrastructure.
The bank also will address climate change and support quality education and targeted programmes for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups.
It also will address issues in the fragile and conflict-affected areas of southern Thailand.
Zarcone said: “It is with great pleasure that I take up this new position in Thailand just as the country emerges from the economic and social challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The tragedy of the pandemic must be turned into an opportunity to build back better and position the economy for sustained productivity-led growth and recovery over the medium and long term. I look forward to supporting Thailand in the achievement of these critical goals,” he added.
Before this appointment, Zarcone was the country manager in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, and Slovakia where he supervised a large and complex portfolio of technical assistance projects. He also was the country manager of Costa Rica and El Salvador, in charge of both lending and advisory services.
He spent time in the Middle East as senior operations officer for the West Bank and Gaza, managing important budgetary support projects for the Palestinian National Authority.
He also has extensive experience working in Sub-Saharan Africa where he supervised several projects in Kenya, Rwanda and the Comoros Islands.
Zarcone holds a PhD in Management Sciences from Escuela Superior de Administración y Dirección de Empresas, and a Masters in European Economics and Law.
