The World Bank (WB) Country Director for Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros, Madagascar, and Mozambique, Mrs Idah Pswarayi-Riddihough, accompanied by a delegation, paid a courtesy call, yesterday, on the President of the Republic of Mauritius, Mr Prithvirajsing Roopun, at the State House in Réduit.
In a statement after the meeting, Mrs Pswarayi-Riddihough shared that on every visit to Mauritius, we always try to call on the President to brief him about all the discussions we have had during our stay as well as to receive his guidance in other focus areas in case we have overlooked any.
The WB Country Director recounted that during the meeting, the new Country Representative of the WB, who will be based in Mauritius for the next four years, was introduced to the President. “We are very excited to have someone new who can handle the dialogue on a day-to-day basis,” she added.
Furthermore, Mrs Pswarayi-Riddihough underlined that discussions also focused on the Country Partnership Framework which is a document that was prepared jointly with the Government of Mauritius and that will be sent to the WB’s administration for approval.
Lastly, she pointed out that the President was briefed on the progress of the project of the extension of the Runway in Rodrigues which is nearing completion. “We are looking forward to presenting it to our Board by the end of September 2023,” the WB Country Director informed.
The WB Country Director
Mrs Idah Pswarayi-Riddihough is the World Bank Country Director for Mauritius, Comoros, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Seychelles since July 2021, and is based in Maputo, Mozambique. Prior to this post, she was a Country Director for Sri Lanka, Nepal, and the Maldives from January 2016 to June 2020.
Furthermore, in May 2015, she was assigned to the role of Strategy and Operations Director in Human Resources (HR) and was responsible for tracking the progress of the HR strategy and the creation and running of HR’s first Programme Management Office, which, for the first time, included HR analytics as a core deliverable.
Her first Director role was in 2012 with her appointment as Director for Operational Services and Quality in South Asia. In her various positions at the Bank, she has been responsible for overall strategic leadership and many lending and non-lending services, as well as for managing human resources, budget, client relationships, business development, and portfolio management.
Moreover, Mrs Pswarayi-Riddihough has managed high-level government, donor, and development partner relationships, commencing with the leadership she provided in the Africa Region’s climate change contributions to both the Cancun and Durban 16th and 17th Conference of Parties in 2010 and 2011 respectively. Her Bank career spans over 27 years, and she has worked in four of the Bank’s six regions, namely, Africa, Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and East Asia.
