Presenter: Franz Drees-Gross

Topic:          Growth Prospects for the Pacific Region

Time:           12:15 pm for 12.30 pm, Thursday 24^th October 2013. Presentations usually conclude by 1.15 pm to 1.30 pm

Venue:        Ground Floor East Seminar Room, Reserve Bank of Australia, 65 Martin Place, Sydney

Cost:             Free, light refreshments provided

RSVP:          Please respond to ecosocnsw@ecosoc.org.au

Abstract:  Franz Drees-Gross, the World Bank's Country Director for Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands, will address the question of where the Pacific region's key future growth opportunities lie. His presentation will cover critical aspects of the region’s links with the Australian economy as well as its growing ties to the dynamic Asian region. The growth opportunities identified for the Pacific region will be set in the context of the particular geographic conditions that make the region unique. Franz Drees-Gross became Country Director for Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands based in Sydney on 1 January 2013. Before coming to Sydney, Mr Drees-Gross managed the World Bank’s infrastructure, environment and rural/social development portfolio in Indonesia from 2010-2013 including infrastructure projects from large dams and national highways to community health centres and environmental projects from forest protection to corral reefs. Prior to Indonesia, Mr Drees-Gross worked as the World Bank’s sector leader for the same technical areas in various countries of South America. Before joining the World Bank in 1997, Mr Drees-Gross worked in Africa as a US Peace Corps volunteer in a small town in Cote d’Ivoire and as a water supply/sanitation engineer in Peru and Yemen.