The former Mastercard CEO and the US nominee for World Bank President Ajay Banga is on a two-day visit to India where he is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman.
Ajay Banga’s visit to New Delhi is the final stop on his three-week global tour during which he talked with donor countries and borrowers to gather support and discuss issues of the World Bank. His global tour that began in Africa before progressing to Europe, Latin America and Asia.
During his visit he will meet PM Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to discuss India’s development priorities and global economic development challenges.
“While in India, Banga will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as the minister of finance Nirmala Sitharaman and the minister of external affairs S Jaishankar. These discussions will focus on India’s development priorities, the World Bank, and global economic development challenges,” US Treasury Department said in a statement.
Banga will also visit the Learnet Institute of Skills, which is a network of vocational institutes established in collaboration with the National Skills Development Corporation, funded in part by the World Bank.
Banga will learn about the Institute’s programme and meet with programme participants, staff, alumni, and private sector partners to discuss how it is improving the lives and economic opportunities of participants – particularly young people, it said.
The government endorsed Banga’s candidacy soon after his nomination was announced in February. Since then, a diverse coalition of governments have expressed their support for Banga, including Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom.
According to a Reuters report, the nominations for the World Bank chief’s post will be taken from other countries till March 29. However, Ajay Banga has no competitors.
Along the way, he has built continuous momentum for his candidacy, gaining the support of advocates, academics, development experts, executives, Nobel laureates, and former government officials, it said.
If elected to serve, Banga will draw from his experience living and working in emerging markets and his expertise in forging public-private partnerships to mobilise investments and action to confront long standing challenges, it added.
Banga would also be the first-ever Indian-American and Sikh-American to head either of the two top international financial institutions: International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
That includes his efforts at Mastercard to successfully bring 500 million previously unbanked people into the digital economy, as well as its support for 50 million small businesses.
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