Washington: Indian American Ajay Banga took over as the President of the World Bank on Friday (local time). He is the first black person to head either of the two global financial institutions, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. In May, the Executive Directors of the World Bank today elected Ajay Banga as the President of the World Bank for a five-year term beginning on June 2, 2023. In February, President Joe Biden announced that the US would nominate Banga to lead the World Bank. ,
“Join us in welcoming Ajay Banga as the new President of the World Bank Group. We are committed to creating a world free of poverty on a livable planet.’
“I wish Ajay Banga all the best as he assumes his new role as President of the World Bank today. I look forward to doing good and helping those in need,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a tweet. I look forward to continuing the deep partnership between the institutions.
Banga has become the first Indian-American to head the World Bank. He replaces David Malpass, who announced he was stepping down in February. Banga most recently served as Vice President at General Atlantic. Previously, he was President and CEO of Mastercard, a global organization with approximately 24,000 employees.
Under his leadership, Mastercard launched the Center for Inclusive Growth, which advances equitable and sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion around the world. He was the Honorary President of the International Chamber of Commerce, serving as the President from 2020-2022.
He became an advisor to BeyondNetZero, General Atlantic’s climate-focused fund, at its inception in 2021. , Guatemala and Honduras. He previously served on the boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods and Dow Inc.
Banga is the co-founder of the Cyber Readiness Institute and was the Vice Chair of the Economic Club of New York. He was awarded the Foreign Policy Association Medal in 2012, the Padma Shri Award by the President of India in 2016, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2019 and the Business Council for International Understanding Global Leadership Award and Distinguished Friend of the Singapore Public Service. star in 2021.
On Thursday, Treasury Yellen met with Banga at the Treasury Department. During their engagement, Yellen warmly welcomed Banga’s upcoming presidency and expressed her strong desire to continue working closely with the Treasury to build on the strong progress made so far on developing multilateral development banks (MDBs). said in a media release.
This includes the continued implementation of the recommendations of the G20 Capital Adequacy Framework Review to maximize leverage from the Bank’s balance sheet, and to improve and increase the amount of private capital raised for our shared global development objectives and the operating model to enhance accountability. Refinement is included. And the agility of the bank, it said.
Yellen also reiterated the importance of working closely with the World Bank’s associate development banks. Yellen stressed the need to support the Bank’s poorest member countries as they face multiple crises, including facing global macroeconomic headwinds fueled by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The statement said Yellen underlined that she looked forward to Banga’s experienced leadership and proven management skills at the helm of this important multilateral institution during a period of significant global challenge and opportunity.
(With PTI inputs)