WB Group President on official visit to Romania next week

World Bank Group President David Malpass will come to Romania for a two-day official visit starting Wednesday, April 13, the WB announced in a statement on Thursday evening, Agerpres reports.

This will be David Malpass' first visit to Romania as head of the World Bank Group. The visit reaffirms the World Bank Group's commitment to partnering with Romania in support of sustainable economic growth and shared prosperity, the cited source said.

"The World Bank Group has a strong partnership with Romania. We are committed to support further progress in Romania toward growth that builds on macroeconomic stability, inclusion, and strong institutions. In these turbulent times in the region, we are ready to support Romania as it hosts refugees fleeing from Ukraine and work with the authorities to improve living standards for all Romanians," David Malpass said.

During his trip, the WB Group President will meet with the authorities and partners of the World Bank Group in Romania and will have the opportunity to visit a World Bank-supported project in the education sector with a focus on supporting the Roma population.

Joining Mr. Malpass on his visit will be Anna Bjerde, World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia, Gallina A. Vincelette, World Bank Country Director for the European Union, and Ary Naim, IFC Regional Manager, Central and Southeast Europe.

The World Bank's active portfolio in Romania consists of nine investment projects totaling 1.78 billion U.S. dollars and technical and analytics tasks services worth 124.62 million U.S. dollars.

IFC's committed portfolio to Romania as of February 15 was 1.04 billion U.S. dollars in more than 30 projects, of which 55 percent were investments in financial institutions and the remaining 45 percent were real sector investment projects. IFC's outstanding portfolio amounts to 954.48 million U.S. dollars, ranking first in the newly created IFC Europe region.