Chisinau, July 1, 2025¡ªThe ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Group has appointed Ulrich Schmitt as its new Country Manager for Moldova, effective July 1, 2025. He replaces Inguna Dobraja, who was the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Group Country Manager since July 2021.
¡°I¡¯m honored to represent the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Group in Moldova, where I will actively work with the public and private sectors to find solutions for creating jobs, improving human capital, and boosting Moldova¡¯s competitiveness,¡± said Mr. Schmitt. ¡°Despite the series of crises stemming from Russia¡¯s invasion of Ukraine, along with other lingering development challenges, Moldova¡¯s EU candidacy, combined with strong reform momentum and investments in resilience, offers a great opportunity for the country to foster long-term sustainable growth.¡±
In Moldova, the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Group works to support regulatory reform and boost green, resilient, and inclusive development and competitiveness with three key objectives: to create jobs, improve human capital, and increase green investment, particularly in infrastructure and agriculture. The current reflects this unified approach, with activities to support sustainable development and the country¡¯s goal to advance toward European Union accession, as well as capacity-building and digitization efforts to strengthen public and private sector systems and institutions.
A German national, Schmitt most recently served as Operations Manager for Myanmar and Thailand, based in Bangkok, overseeing the operational program, office operation, and strategic engagement of the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ in both countries. He brings more than 20 years of ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ experience to the role having worked as Lead Agriculture Economist in the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳¡¯s Europe and Central Asia Department in Washington, DC, as Program Leader for Sustainable Development in the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Office for Sri Lanka and the Maldives based in Colombo, and as Senior Natural Resources Economist on investment operations and analytical tasks based in Beijing, China. Schmitt holds a Ph.D. in natural resources management from Technical University of Munich.
About the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Group: ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Group has a bold vision: to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet. In more than 100 countries, the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Group provides financing, advice, and innovative solutions that improve lives by creating jobs, strengthening economic growth, and confronting the most urgent global development challenges. ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳ Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries. It consists of the ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳, 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, , and .