Swarnim Waglé is the Chief Economic Advisor at the UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific (RBAP) in New York. He leads work on strategy, policy and partnerships covering 36 countries.

Between 2014 and 2018, Dr. Waglé served the National Planning Commission (NPC) in the Government of Nepal for three years, first as Member and then as Vice-Chair. He has worked as an international development professional for more than 20 years, including as Senior Economist at The World Bank in Washington, DC and UNDP offices in Hanoi, Colombo and New York.

Dr. Waglé is also Chairman of the Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS), a South Asian policy think tank. He sits on the Senate of Kathmandu University and advises several non-profit organizations.

He holds a PhD in Economics from the Australian National University, an MPA in International Development (MPA/ID) from Harvard University, and a BSc (Econ) from the London School of Economics.