Ajay Banga Uniquely Equipped To Lead World Bank At Critical Moment: US Government

The US government has said that Ajay Banga is an exceptional candidate for the World Bank President position and he is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at such a critical moment.

The comments came as the global lender is planning to formally announce Banga's appointment as president. ( Image Source :Getty )

The US government has said that Ajay Banga is an exceptional candidate for the World Bank President position and he is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at such a critical moment. The comments came as the global lender is planning to formally announce Banga's appointment as president.

In February, President Joe Biden announced that the US would be nominating Banga to lead the World Bank because he is well equipped to lead the global institution at "this critical moment in history." 

The World Bank completed the nomination process for its next president on March 31. Banga was the only applicant for the position of president of the World Bank. The new president of the World Bank is anticipated to be announced by early May. 

Vedant Patel, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson, at his daily news conference on Friday, said, "He (Banga) is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at such a critical moment, and he’s an exceptional candidate,” 

“His leadership skills and management experience, his experience in the financial sector, will help achieve the World’s Bank objectives by eliminating extreme poverty, and expanding prosperity, while also doing so in a very evolving and dynamic global playing field, where we’re dealing with a lot of new and pressing issues and challenges, like climate change and global health challenges and other things as well,” Patel said.

Banga, the former CEO of Mastercard Inc., is currently Vice Chairman of General Atlantic.

Born and raised in India, Banga has a particular understanding of the opportunities and difficulties that face developing nations, as well as how the World Bank can carry out its ambitious objective to decrease poverty and increase prosperity, said President Biden.

In his capacity as Co-Chair of the Partnership for Central America, he has worked closely with Vice President Harris. In 2016, he received the Padma Shri Award.

Banga's nomination comes at a critical time when the US and other Western countries are pushing for reforms to concentrate on a number of issues, including climate change.