Skip to Main Navigation

Safaa El Tayeb El-Kogali

Safaa GCC MENA 2024

Country Director for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

Middle East and North Africa

Safaa El Tayeb El-Kogali is the World Bank’s Country Director for the (GCC) countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) since July 1st, 2023.

Ms. El-Kogali, a Sudanese national, is a leading international development expert with more than 27 years of development experience in strategic leadership, government policy, program management, and research. Ms. El-Kogali, joined the World Bank in March 2000 as a Young Professional in the East Asia & Pacific Region. She has since held various positions across regions in the Bank, including Senior Economist in The Middle East and North Africa, Human Development Sector Leader in Latin America and Caribbean, and Practice Manager for Education in the Middle East and North Africa and in the Eastern and Southern African. She led policy dialogue and programs with governments in over 30 countries and published numerous studies and reports spanning a range of development topics.

Ms. El-Kogali has a Master of Philosophy degree with distinction in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, UK and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, USA. You can connect with her on LinkedIn and follow her on Twitter @Safaa_elkogali.