Ajay Banga assumes his new post on Friday 2nd of June, as President of the World Bank after being nominated by US President Joe Biden. Banga will have the daunting task of tackling the financing of the fight against climate change.
Ajay Banga began his first day at the helm of the World Bank Group on Friday, taking charge of the development lender as it grapples with questions about its future direction.
An Indian-born, naturalized US citizen, Banga was nominated to the position by US President Joe Biden after a successful business career which included a long stretch running the payments company Mastercard.
Banga, 63, has taken over from David Malpass as the bank’s 14th president on a pledge to expand the role of the private sector in addressing the world’s development needs.
Banga took over the top job at the World Bank from Malpass, who stepped down early from his five-year term amid questions about his stance on climate change.
Under an increasingly contentious unwritten arrangement, a US citizen has historically held the presidency of the Washington-based development lender, while the International Monetary Fund has been run by a European.
In his final message as World Bank president on Thursday, Malpass touted the World Bank’s role in “quickly” mobilizing resources to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine, and highlighted the doubling of climate financing for developing countries under his watch.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
