Gianluca Mele is Economic Adviser to the World Bank’s Regional Vice President for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (MENAAP). In this role, he provides economic and strategic advice on regional priorities and oversees the quality and delivery of policy, technical, operational, and corporate work. From 2022 to 2026, he served as Lead Economist for the West Bank and Gaza, advancing economic monitoring and policy dialogue and helping shape the World Bank’s response to the 2023–25 conflict centered in Gaza. Previously, he supported the World Bank’s former Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Operations on economic and operational engagements, including the G7, G20, and other major international forums. Earlier, as a country economist across the Middle East, the Caribbean, and West Africa, he worked on growth, competitiveness, fiscal policy, debt sustainability, and wealth accounting. Before joining the World Bank in 2011, he worked for the United Nations in Geneva (2007-2010). He is an alumnus of Harvard and LUISS Universities and holds a PhD in Economics and Statistics from the University of Salerno.