Waleed Alsuraih and Victor Loksha

Waleed Alsuraih and Victor Loksha

Waleed Alsuraih & Victor Loksha

Waleed Alsuraih
Mr. Alsuraih is the Cluster Leader of the World Bank Energy Advisory Services for the GCC and regional energy trade program for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. He oversees teams to develop policy solutions and investments needed to address evolving energy sector challenges facing the transition to sustainable energy systems. With over twenty years of professional work experience, of which about ten years in electric utility industry, Mr. Alsuraih handled power sector development and operations, as well as managerial responsibilities including tasks in utility restructuring as part of wider power sector reform projects.

He has been working with governments, utilities, and relevant stakeholders across the MENA region to strengthen the role of power sector in economic growth and social prosperity. Some of his recent tasks is leading projects to strengthen power sector sustainability by unlocking private sector investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy systems modernization. He is currently leading the World Bank Initiative on Pan-Arab Regional Energy Trade Platform which supports the development electricity and gas trade markets within the region, and beyond. He has led and contributed to different energy sector development reports. Mr. Alsuraih holds a B.Sc. in Power Engineering and MBA from Southampton School of Management in the UK.

Victor Loksha
Victor is a Senior Energy Consultant active in three Regional departments of the World Bank (Africa, Middle East and North Africa, and Europe and Central Asia). He joined the World Bank in 1995 and led a number of operational and analytical activities in various units of the Bank. In his latest staff position as a Senior Energy Economist with the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), Victor conducted numerous reviews of grant proposals for activities focusing on Energy Sector Governance, Markets and Planning. He also led the organization of several knowledge exchange events for ESMAP’s Energy Subsidy Reform technical assistance facility and supported the Energy Economics, Markets and Institutions Global Solutions Group in the knowledge project on Rethinking Power Sector Reform.

Previously, he has led analytical work on International Experience with Private Sector Participation in Electric Power Grids, Open Access to Transmission and Distribution Systems in the Electricity Sector, and Analytical Tools for Low-Carbon Development. He has also contributed to ESMAP’s renewable energy work, including the publication of the Handbook on Planning and Financing Geothermal Power. 

Victor has a Ph.D in Environmental Economics from Moscow State University and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.