Mr. Asad Alam is the Country Director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti. He has been in this position since 2015. He leads the development and implementation of the World Bank’s country partnership strategies for these countries.

Prior to taking up this post, Mr. Alam has served as Country Director for Southern Africa covering South Africa, Botswana,  Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland and earlier as Country Director for the South Caucasus covering Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

An economist by training, Mr. Alam joined the World Bank as a Young Professional in 1993. He has worked in other regions of the world including Africa, Central Asia, East Asia, Europe and Latin America. He initially worked as a country economist on several countries, and later as a sector manager for the macroeconomics, poverty reduction and gender unit in Europe and Central Asia.

A published author, Mr. Alam has written works on various subjects including productivity, growth, poverty, inequality, trade, and fiscal issues. His most recent books include: Making it Happen: Selected Case Studies of Institutional Reforms in South Africa (2016), Fighting Corruption in Public Services: Chronicling Georgia’s Reforms (2012), Unleashing Prosperity: Productivity Growth in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union (2008) and Growth, Poverty and Inequality in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union (2005).

Mr. Alam is an Indian national. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Columbia University, USA and a B.Sc. in Economics from The London School of Economics and Political Science, UK.