Ajay Banga – World Bank president nominee, pledges to partner with African Development Bank for transformative results
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Ajay Banga, the United States’ nominee for the World Bank Group Presidency, began his global tour on Monday, with his first stop in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. There, he met with African Development Bank Group President Dr Akinwumi Adesina, senior management, and the Board of Directors. During the meeting, Banga emphasized the need for the World Bank Group to form a strong partnership with the African Development Bank Group to deliver transformative results.
Banga also highlighted three major issues affecting many parts of the world: inequality, tension between humanity and nature, and the tendency to apply short-term solutions to long-term problems. These challenges have been further complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic, environmental degradation, and the impact of the Russia-Ukraine War. He underscored the role of technology and the private sector in mobilizing much-needed capital resources for significant economic development.
Dr Adesina echoed Banga’s call for a regenerated partnership and stressed the need for a new way of working between the World Bank and the African Development Bank. He emphasized the urgent need to address climate change and environmental degradation, which he said were breeding grounds for poverty and terrorism. Dr Adesina called for a new way of measuring the wealth of nations that considers factors such as a country’s contribution to carbon emissions and impact on biodiversity.
Dr Adesina also called for increased economic opportunities, particularly in rural areas where infrastructure investment is crucial. He noted that thirty-four heads of state had attended the recently held Dakar 2 Food Summit and committed to country food and agriculture delivery compacts. Dr Adesina also suggested resolving the problem of energy poverty in Africa by using initiatives like the African Development Bank-led Desert to Power initiative, which aims to deliver green electricity to more than 200 million people across eleven countries using solar capacity.
President Joe Biden announced Ajay Banga as the United States’ nominee for the World Bank Group Presidency on February 23rd, and he is currently on a global tour to engage with stakeholders. The institution’s current president, David Malpass, has announced his intention to step down by the end of June 2023.
