Mr Charles Undeland World Bank's Country Manager for South Sudan - Courtesy of WBG

The World Bank has appointed Charles Undeland as Group Country Manager for South Sudan.

Mr. Undeland’s new role will consolidate leadership at the country level within the institution, fostering partnerships with South Sudan’s public and private sectors to achieve developmental outcomes for its people.

South Sudan is among 21 country offices transitioning to a unified WBG Country Manager or Resident Representative.

Mr. Undeland joined the WBG as a Senior Governance Specialist in South Asia in 2009 and brings to his new position, over three decades of experience in international development.

Over the past four years, he served as Senior Operations Officer in the World Bank’s East and Southern Africa region where he covered South Sudan among several countries.

This has provided him with an in-depth knowledge of the country’s development landscape, challenges, and opportunities.

Mr. Undeland succeeds Firas Raad who recently completed his three-year term as Country Manager for South Sudan is moving on to lead the World Bank’s program in Lilongwe, Malawi.

In a statement, Mr. Undeland expressed his commitment to enhancing their partnership over the next three years for the benefit of South Sudan.

He aims to achieve this by enhancing resilience to climate change and shocks, expanding job opportunities in the private sector, improving human capital and inclusivity, and bolstering governance and macroeconomic stability.

“I am thrilled to be arriving as the World Bank Group’s Country Manager for South Sudan at this critical
time in the country’s history and development journey,” Charles said.

“Over the next three years, I hope to build on our partnership to deliver results for the people of South Sudan, including enhancing resilience to climate change and other shocks, increasing private sector job opportunities, improving human capital outcomes and inclusion, and strengthening governance and macroeconomic stability”, he said.

“Unified Bank Group leadership will improve our speed and make us a better partner to the government, the private sector, and ultimately the people we serve.”

In South Sudan, the WBG works to support the country’s journey out of fragility and help it achieve its
long-term development aspirations.

The WBG’s current engagement includes an active portfolio of $ 1.4 billion in commitments across 14 projects covering different sectors.

The introduction of joint country representation is an important step towards building a stronger World
Bank Group.

Mr. Undeland will represent the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Development Association, the International Finance Corporation, and the Multilateral
Investment Guarantee Agency.

This newly created position provides a single point of contact for access to the full breadth of World Bank Group products and services and will enhance the institution’s ability to address global challenges and drive development with speed, efficiency, scale, and impact.