World Bank Expands Gevorg Sargsyan’s Role to Oversee Full Operations in Maldives

The World Bank has announced an expanded role for Gevorg Sargsyan, who will now lead the operations of the entire World Bank Group in the Maldives, including its private sector arms – the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

Sargsyan, who has served as the World Bank Country Manager for Maldives since 2023, will now serve as a unified point of contact for all World Bank Group engagements in the country. The move is part of a broader effort to consolidate country-level leadership and strengthen coordination across the institution’s public and private sector activities.

An Armenian national, Sargsyan brings over two decades of experience at the World Bank, where he has held senior roles including Country Manager for Ukraine and Belarus, Manager of Operations for Southeast Asia, and Global Lead for Clean Energy. He also currently serves as the Country Manager for Sri Lanka.

“Maldives has immense potential for private sector-led growth,” Sargsyan said. “While tourism is driving impressive economic expansion, the country does face significant fiscal and external headwinds. In this expanded role, my priority is to enhance and broaden our partnerships to enable the private sector to be the driving force behind Maldives achieving a sustainable and resilient economic future.”

He added that the unification of the World Bank Group’s presence in Maldives would allow for faster and more effective collaboration with stakeholders, especially in areas such as job creation, fiscal resilience, and climate adaptation.

The announcement comes as the World Bank Group implements its 2024–2027 Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for the Maldives. The CPF focuses on strengthening fiscal and climate resilience, enhancing access to economic opportunities, and improving human capital to support private sector investment and long-term economic transformation.

Maldives is among 41 country offices of the World Bank Group that are transitioning to a single leadership structure, bringing together representation for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Development Association (IDA), IFC, and MIGA.