Ajay Banga formally took over as the World Bank’s 14th president on Friday and called on staff to help shape the bank’s “new strategy,” whose validity has been questioned in recent years.
Banga’s appointment as next leader comes at a pivotal moment in its 77-year history. Global pandemic reverses decades of poverty reduction progress, Russia’s war in Ukraine remains a threat to economic stability, World Bank plays more ambitious role in fighting climate change are facing new pressures.
“Achieving our ambitions will require maximizing resources, writing new strategies, thinking creatively, taking informed risks, and forging new partnerships with civil society and multilateral institutions. need to evolve for the sake of it,” Banga wrote in a note to staff. Read by The New York Times.
Banga was nominated by President Biden in February following the resignation of outgoing World Bank President David Malpass, who was nominated by former President Donald J. Trump. The World Bank Board of Directors confirmed Banga in May after an extensive hearing tour that included visits to eight countries and dozens of meetings with government officials around the world.
In a message to employees, Banga defined the bank’s mission as “to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet.”
It is the second part of the mission that Mr. Banga will probably appreciate.
Malpass resigned a year early after failing to demonstrate enough of a commitment to combating global warming at a time when the Biden administration reiterated the bank’s increased focus on the environment.
But Vanga, the former Mastercard chief executive, will come under pressure to demonstrate progress on the bank’s environmental agenda, as he has not brought extensive climate change credentials to the role. deaf. He said the challenges of addressing climate change and poverty are intertwined.
“The challenge for the World Bank is clear: we must pursue both climate adaptation and mitigation. We must not turn our backs on middle-income countries, we must reach out to low-income countries. But we must recognize national and regional needs.We must accept risks, but we must act with caution,” Banga said in a statement to the World Bank Board of Governors, which accompanied the memo to staff. said in a statement to
Climate activists plan to go out of the World Bank on Friday and try to hand out postcards to staff with a demand for Mr. Banga to be careful during his first 100 days in office. They remain frustrated that the World Bank is financing coal, oil and gas projects despite promises to prioritize clean energy projects.
Banga is expected to use his expertise to expand the World Bank’s resources and forge new partnerships between the public and private sectors. In a memo, the former finance executive added that achieving many of the World Bank’s goals would require global investment of trillions of dollars a year.
Banga will also face a difficult diplomatic task of trying to satisfy the climate change ambitions of the United States and Europe while facing skepticism from some developing countries. He will also face the delicate task of urging China, a major shareholder and creditor of the World Bank, to allow debt restructuring for poor countries that owe huge amounts of money to the Chinese government.
The World Bank President is traditionally chosen by the United States. The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund is elected by the European Union.
Banga met with Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen on Thursday. The two discussed ways to improve how banks operate and make them more agile and responsive, according to a summary of the conversation released by the Treasury Department.
