Africa-Press – Lesotho. The newly appointed World Bank Country Representative for Lesotho Mr. Yoichiro Ishihara joined the Maseru office on February 17 2020. Mr. Ishihara is succeeding Ms.
Janet Entwistle, who recently completed her term. Mr. Ishihara joined the World Bank in 2001 and has extensive experience working in development in different regions in the world including South Asia, South East Asia and Africa.
Prior to moving to Lesotho, Mr Ishihara led World Bank programs in Bhutan as resident representative and senior country economist. Before that, he held various positions including the senior country economist in Rwanda, the senior country
economist in Afghanistan and economist in Indonesia. “We are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Ishihara to lead the World Bank’s program in Lesotho,” said the Country Director for Lesotho, Botswana, eSwatini, Namibia
and South Africa, Ms. Marie- Francoise Marie Nelly. “Working closely with government counterparts and key stakeholders, Mr Ishihara will support Lesotho’s efforts to achieve its
development priorities in line with the World Bank’s goals of ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity”. Mr. Ishihara, a Japanese national, holds a PhD in Development Economics from the Graduate
School of International Development of Nagoya University, Japan. He is a macroeconomist with a broad operational expertise, technical skills and rich client experience across various regions. He also worked for the policy department of the World Bank in Washington D. C. on development effectiveness and results management.
