Washington
\nThe US nominee to lead the World Bank, former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga, returns to his native India on Thursday, capping a three-week global tour to drum up support and discuss the development and climate needs with donor and borrowing countries.
\nThe Treasury said Banga will visit New Delhi on March 23 and 24, where his likeness has already been posted on billboards. He will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as the minister of finance, Nirmala Sitharaman, and the minister of external affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
\n\u201cThese discussions will focus on India\u2019s development priorities, the World Bank, and global economic development challenges,\u201d the Treasury said in a statement.
\nIndia\u2019s government endorsed the candidacy of Banga, a longtime finance and development executive who is now a US citizen, soon after his nomination was announced in late February.
\nHe has won the support of enough other governments to virtually assure his confirmation as the next World Bank president, including Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.
\nThe World Bank will accept nominations from other countries until March 29, but no competitors have been announced. The World Bank has been led by an American since its founding at the end of World War Two, while the International Monetary Fund has been led by a European.
\nUS President Joe Biden last month nominated Banga, 63, to replace David Malpass, who announced his resignation after months of controversy over his initial failure to say he backed the scientific consensus on climate change.
\nIn India, Banga will also visit a vocational skills development institute funded in part by the World Bank, the Treasury said.
\nOver the past month, Banga has met with government officials, civil society groups, business leaders and other stakeholders on a \u201cglobal listening tour\u201d that started in Africa before progressing to Europe, Latin America and Asia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Washington The US nominee to lead the World Bank, former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga, returns to his native India on Thursday, capping a three-week global tour to drum up support and discuss the development and climate needs with donor and borrowing countries. The Treasury said Banga will visit New Delhi on March 23 and 24, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-321431","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n