Kenya has endorsed the candidature of Ajay Banga as the next President of the World Bank Group.
President Ruto said Banga, the United States candidate to head the World Bank, has the credentials and experience that will take the Bretton Woods institution to the next level.
Ruto was speaking on Wednesday at State House, Nairobi after he held talks with Banga, a former MasterCard Chief Executive Officer and current vice chairman of General Atlantic.
“He has proven accomplishment, particularly in development; he will address the issues facing us as a globe,” said Ruto.
The president said Banga’s rich experience will help respond in time to the emerging economic challenges, deliver transformative results and drive the world to prosperity.
Banga, a 63-year-old Indian-American, was last month nominated by US President Joe Biden for the World Bank’s top job after its current chief David Malpass announced plans to step down early.
Biden noted that Banga “is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history”.
Banga, a Sikh who was born and raised in India, has pledged to scale up financial support to countries besides helping in delivering on internationally agreed climate and development goals.
Last month, the World Bank began accepting candidate nominations in a process set to run until March 29th, with the bank saying that women contenders would be “strongly” encouraged.
So far, Banga is the only declared candidate and has received the support of several countries including India, Kenya and Ghana.
“I am not a woman but I do bring a lot of diversity. I am a champion of equality not just of gender, of ethnicity, of sexual orientation, of where you grew up, I don’t care about all that, what I care about is what you do, and I am an example of that myself,” he said.
Kenya is Banga’s second stop on a global tour after Ivory Coast.
