Seoul, July 1, 2024 – Starting today, Jason Allford becomes the World Bank Group Special Representative for the Republic of Korea, a position that will unify country-level leadership across the institution to better support Korea's public and private sector priorities. 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 institutions' ability to address global challenges, and drive development with speed, efficiency, and impact.
"The Republic of Korea has an amazing development history, and Korea now plays a critical role in the development of other countries through investments, financial support and knowledge transfer," said Jason Allford, World Bank Group Special Representative to the Republic of Korea. "Unified Bank Group leadership means the World Bank Group can partner with Korean public and private sector organizations in a coordinated way to maximize the development impact of Korea's interventions."
In the Republic of Korea, the World Bank Group partners with Korean organizations to support development outcomes in low- and middle-income countries, focusing on solutions that utilize Korean technology and innovation. We support Korean companies to make impactful investments in developing economies, and we link policymakers in World Bank Group member countries with state-of-the-art solutions to development problems.
Jason Allford joined the Australian Government in 1994, focusing on macroeconomic analysis, forecasting and fiscal policy. He worked at the World Bank Group from 2014 to 2018, representing 15 countries from Asia and the Pacific including Korea at the Bank's Board of Executive Directors. He has also worked as an adviser on fiscal policy to governments in Africa, East Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.
The introduction of joint country representation is an important step towards building a stronger World Bank Group. Republic of Korea is one of 21 World Bank Group offices transitioning to a single World Bank Group Country Manager or Resident Representative for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).
About the World Bank Group:
The World Bank Group has a bold vision: to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet. In more than 100 countries, the World Bank Group provides financing, advice, and innovative solutions that improve lives by creating jobs, strengthening economic growth, and confronting the most urgent global development challenges. The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries. It consists of the World Bank, including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA); the International Finance Corporation (IFC); the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). For more information, please visit www.worldbank.org , www.miga.org , and www.ifc.org.
