Ms. Sharifa Khan has been serving as the Alternate Executive Director (AED) for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka at the World Bank Group since April 2024. Prior joining to the World Bank Group, she worked for Bangladesh civil service and a number of international organizations for more than 34 years. She is well known for her prudent leadership skills and academic expertise on international trade, development financing, macro-economic issues, and LDC Graduation.
Ms. Khan hold various senior positions in the Government of Bangladesh including Senior Secretary, Economic Relations Division (ERD), Ministry of Finance and Member (Secretary rank), Bangladesh Planning Commission. She also worked for Winrock International, International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) and served as the Intern at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
In her official capacity, Mr. Khan served as the Chairperson of Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) and Infrastructure Investment Facilitation Company (IIFC). She was also the Board of Directors of Bangladesh Infrastructure Finance Fund Limited (BIFFL) and Saudi Bangladesh Industrial & Agricultural Investment Company Limited (SABINCO), Member, Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) and Secretary Committee of the Government of Bangladesh. She carried out the responsibilities of the Alternate Governor of New Development Bank (NDB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) on behalf of the Government of Bangladesh. In her colorful career, Ms. Khan held various positions in the Ministry of Agriculture; Deputy Commissioner’s Office Dhaka, Bangladesh Public Administration Training Center (BPATC); Bangladesh High Commission in London, and the Ministry of Commerce. She led various negotiations on development financing, free trade agreements, international trade and WTO issues.
Ms. Khan obtained her Diploma and Masters degrees on Development Economics from Australian National University, Australia. She also completed her Bachelor and Masters degrees in Economics from Dhaka University. She completed a number of courses on macro-economic issues, leadership and management at home and abroad including Harvard University and Duke University, USA, University of Bradford, UK and International Development Law Organization (IDLO) Australia, Management Development Foundation, the Netherlands and the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies. She was honored with prestigious Begum Rokeya Gold Model for her outstanding academic performance at the Dhaka University.
