राजनीति

US candidate for World Bank chief Ajay Banga to meet PM Modi, S Jaishankar in Delhi

The US candidate for the President of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, will be on a two-day visit to Delhi on March 23 and 24 where he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The former Mastercard CEO and the will arrive in India on Thursday and is set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Delhi.

Ajay Banga's visit to India will bring an end to his "global listening tour" where he talked with donor countries and borrowers to gather support and discuss issues of the World Bank.

During his visit to Delhi on March 23 and 24, Ajay Banga will meet PM Modi, S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to discuss India’s development priorities, the World Bank, and global economic development challenges, said the US Treasury.

The Union government endorsed the Indian-origin business executive's candidacy for the President of the World Bank soon after his nomination was announced in February.

Several countries have already supported Banga's candidacy, including Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.

Nominations for the World Bank chief's post will be taken from other countries till March 29 but so far, Ajay Banga has no competitors, said a Reuters report.

US President Joe Biden nominated Banga (63) to replace David Malpass, who announced his resignation after months of controversy surrounding his initial failure to say he backed the scientific consensus on climate change.

Banga currently serves as vice chair of General Atlantic, a US private equity firm. He retired in December 2021 after 12 years at the helm of Mastercard Inc, where he set a target of bringing 1 billion people and 50 million micro and small businesses into the digital economy by 2025.