The Asian Development Bank has appointed its first female country director in Pakistan, Xiaohong Yang.
Chinese national Yang started on April 24 and will lead the implementation of the Bank’s Country Partnership Strategy 2015-2019 for Pakistan, which focuses on infrastructure development and institutional reforms.
Sean O’Sullivan, director general for Central and West Asia at the bank, said: “Pakistan’s recent growth and development has been impressive. With further economic and structural reforms taking place and new opportunities emerging, Ms. Yang will bring to this key position strategic leadership and considerable experience in the region to support this transformation.”
Yang replaces the outgoing country director Werner Liepach, who returns to the bank’s headquarters in the Philippines after six years in Pakistan.
Yang joined the Asian Development Bank in 1999 from the World Bank. She led many of the bank’s operations across the East and Central and West regions, most recently overseeing a portfolio of investment projects totalling US$8 billion across 10 countries. She has served as chair of the ADB Transport Sector Group and promoted ADB-wide work in sustainable transport.
The bank has lent an average of US$1.5 billion per year to Pakistan over the last three years.