The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has appointed Zsuzsanna Hargitai as its new managing director for Central Asia. 

Hargitai, a Hungarian national, has managed the EBRD’s activities in a number of countries such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Hungary and Croatia. She held senior managerial positions at the development bank’s headquarters in London, before becoming regional director for the Western Balkans in 2018. As EBRD managing director for Central Asia, Hargitai succeeds Andre Kuusvek, who was appointed president of Nordic Investment Bank earlier this year.

In her role, Hargitai, currently EBRD regional director for the Western Balkans and head of Serbia, will oversee the bank’s operations in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The EBRD has invested $16.5bn via nearly 890 projects in the region to date.

Hargitai will be based primarily in Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan. She is expected to assume her new position on May 17. She will also work from the Bank’s resident office in the Uzbek capital Tashkent.  

“I am very excited about this opportunity to further strengthen and intensify the EBRD’s activities in this strategically important part of the world,” Hargitai said. “Central Asia holds so much promise and its role is only bound to grow in the coming years. From private sector support to the greening of the local economies, from closing the infrastructure gap, including digitalisation, to promoting economic inclusion, the EBRD has significant contributions to make to successfully tackling the challenges ahead.”