Details reaching Taarifa Political desk indicate that Ajay Banga is currently on a trip in Africa to seek support for World Bank Presidency.
President Joe Biden recently nominated Ajay Banga to lead the World Bank.
His trip to Africa marks the first leg of a three-week journey to both creditor and borrower nations, with further stops planned in countries in Europe, Latin America as well as China, the largest bilateral lender to developing economies.
The choice of Africa as a first stop was a deliberate one aimed at showing his commitment to the World Bank’s core development goals, a US official said.
During his visit to Africa, Banga is due to hold meetings with government officials, leaders of multilateral organizations, and civil society to discuss key tasks facing the World Bank, including alleviating extreme poverty, supporting inclusive growth, combating climate change, and addressing challenges like fragility and pandemics.
According to the US Department of Treasury press release, Banga, if elected, will take an evidence-based approach to deliver on the Bank’s core mission of ending extreme poverty and expanding shared prosperity, while evolving it to address key global priorities like climate change.
He arrived in Cote D’Ivoire on Monday (from March 6-7) and will proceed to Kenya On March 8. While in Kenya he will visit the Kenya Climate Innovation Center, a World Bank-backed project.
Kenya Climate Innovation Center offers incubation, capacity building and financing options to new, small and medium business ventures and Kenyan entrepreneurs that are developing innovations to address the challenges of climate change.
US President Biden describes Banga, as a “uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history. He has spent more than three decades building and managing successful, global companies that create jobs and bring investment to developing economies, and guiding organizations through periods of fundamental change. He has a proven track record managing people and systems, and partnering with global leaders around the world to deliver results.”
