Accordingly, the new WB President Ajay Banga, 63 years old, an Indian-American, will officially assume this position from June 2.
Mr. Banga was a Vice President at General Atlantic. Prior to that, he was also President and CEO of Mastercard (2010 - 2020), a global organization with nearly 24,000 employees. Mr. Ajay Banga also served as Honorary President of the International Chamber of Commerce (2020 - 2022); Co-Chairman of the Central American Partnership...
In February 2023, Mr. Ajay Banga was nominated by US President Joe Biden for the position of WB President at the end of February and is the only candidate to replace Mr. David Malpass, the outgoing WB President.
“Ajay Banga is a skilled and experienced leader who will bring innovation to the role of World Bank President. He will guide the organization to address global challenges more effectively,” said US President Joe Biden.
Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Mr. Banga will play an important role in promoting additional reforms, including strengthening partnerships between the public and private sectors as well as non-profit organizations.
The change in leadership at the World Bank comes amid a difficult global economy already battered by the pandemic, inflation and conflict, which has pushed millions into poverty and reversed decades of progress.
One of Mr. Banga's major challenges as World Bank President is to develop new financing mechanisms for Africa amid criticism from regional representatives that the multilateral financial institution has been lacking in attention to the region.
Previously, Mr. David Malpass, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, announced that he would resign as President of the World Bank nearly a year before the end of his term after continuous criticism of the World Bank's response to climate change.
The World Bank is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., that provides loans and grants to governments and non-governments.
Traditionally, the position of head of the WB is held by an American. Meanwhile, a European plays the leading role in the International Monetary Fund (IMF)./.
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