Sameh Wahba is the Regional Director for Sustainable Development in Europe and Central Asia for the World Bank. For more than six years, he was the Global Director for the World Bank’s Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land Global Practice, based in Washington, DC. The Global Practice, which also covers territorial development, geospatial, and results-based financing issues, has a portfolio of close to $30 billion in commitments in investment project, program-for-results and development policy lending.

Wahba previously served as Director for Urban and Territorial Development, Disaster Risk Management and Resilience at the World Bank Group’s Social, Urban Rural, and Resilience Global Practice. He oversaw formulation of the Bank’s global-level strategy, design, and delivery of all lending, technical assistance, policy advisory activities, and partnerships. He has over 25 years’ experience in urban development, land and housing, infrastructure, and sustainable development, and has led Bank programs focused on Africa, Brazil, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Prior to joining the Bank in 2004, he worked at the Institute of Housing and Urban Development Studies in Rotterdam and at the Harvard Center for Urban Development Studies. Wahba holds a PhD and master’s degree in urban planning from Harvard University, and a BSc and MSc in architectural engineering from Cairo University.

He speaks Arabic, French, English and Portuguese. He co-authored the World Bank’s flagship publications on “Regenerating Urban Land: A Practitioner’s Guide to Leveraging Private Investment” and “The Hidden Wealth of Cities: Creating, Financing, and Managing Public Spaces”, and the “Culture in City Reconstruction and Recovery” position paper jointly with UNESCO. He is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Cities and Urbanization.