New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in early May congratulated Ajay Banga, the former Indian-American head of Mastercard, on becoming the World Bank president. “Hearty congratulations Ajay Banga on being selected as the President of @WorldBank. I am confident that you’ll bring your wide experience in the corporate world for meeting the goals of the bank,” she said in a tweet.

Banga, who was selected as the new World Bank president on May 3 had most recently served as vice chairman at General Atlantic. In a statement, the World Bank said that its “board looks forward to working with Banga on the World Bank Group Evolution process, as discussed at the April 2023 Spring Meetings, and on all the World Bank Group’s ambitions and efforts aimed at tackling the toughest development challenges facing developing countries”.

The president of the World Bank Group is also the Chair of the Board of the Executive Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). The president is also the ex-officio chair of the Board of Directors of the International Development Association (IDA), International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and of the Administrative Council of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).