US nominee for World Bank president Ajay Banga to visit native India, will meet PM Modi

Ajay Banga, the United States nominee for the position of World Bank President, is scheduled to visit New Delhi, India on March 23 and 24, concluding his three-week-long worldwide listening tour. This tour commenced in Africa and subsequently moved on to Europe, Latin America, and Asia.

During Banga's stay in India, he will hold meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as the Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman, and the Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The agenda of these discussions will revolve around India's development priorities, the World Bank, and challenges related to global economic development.

In addition, Banga has plans to visit the Learnet Institute of Skills, a network of vocational institutes that were established in partnership with the National Skills Development Corporation and partially funded by the World Bank. During his visit, Banga will gain insights into the institute's programs and interact with program participants, alumni, staff, and private sector partners to discuss how the institute is enhancing the economic opportunities and livelihoods of its participants, with a special focus on youth.

After the announcement of Banga's nomination, the Indian government quickly endorsed his candidacy. Subsequently, a broad coalition of governments, comprising Bangladesh, Cote d'Ivoire, Colombia, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom, have also shown their support for Banga.

Throughout his worldwide listening tour, Banga engaged with a range of high-level government officials, stakeholders, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and civil society representatives. As he progressed, Banga garnered growing momentum for his candidacy, receiving backing from advocates, academics, development experts, executives, Nobel Laureates, and former government officials.

Should Banga be elected to serve, he will leverage his extensive experience of living and working in emerging markets, and his expertise in creating public-private partnerships to mobilise investments and initiatives to address long-standing challenges. This includes his accomplishments at Mastercard, where he played a pivotal role in bringing 500 million previously unbanked individuals into the digital economy, and supported 50 million small businesses.

Multiple endorsements for Banga

Indian-American business executive Ajay Banga has been nominated by the US for the top job at the World Bank. President Joe Biden said the nomination comes at "this critical moment in history". If elected, he will succeed David Malpass, a former Trump Treasury official, at the World Bank. Malpass had already stated that he would leave his position by July, months before his term was set to expire. Banga, the vice chairman of General Electric, is most well-known for his tenure as Mastercard's president and CEO.

US President Joe Biden in a statement said that Ajay Banga is "uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history," and he "has critical experience mobilising public-private resources to tackle the most urgent challenges of our time, including climate change".

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen endorsing Banga said his experience "will help him achieve the World Bank's objectives of eliminating extreme poverty and expanding shared prosperity while pursuing the changes needed to effectively evolve the institution," which include meeting "ambitious goals for climate adaptation and emissions reduction".

Vice President Kamala Harris in a statement said: "Ajay and I have worked closely together on a new model of public-private partnership designed to address the root causes of migration in Northern Central America. Through that partnership, nearly 50 businesses and organisations have mobilised to generate more than USD4.2 billion in commitments that will create opportunity and hope for people in the region."