Kenya has endorsed the nomination of Ajaypal Singh Banga, an Indian-born American business executive to head the World Bank.
On Wednesday, President William Ruto said that Banga has the credentials that will help address issues facing developing countries, particularly job creation, agriculture and climate change.
"With his rich experience in the digital economy, Banga will undoubtedly respond to emerging economic challenges, deliver transformative results and begin a new era in global finance and development,'' Ruto said.
Ruto said this when he met the candidate, a former MasterCard CEO accompanied by US Ambassador, Meg Whiteman at the State House, Nairobi.
Kenya's endorsement is an added point to Benga who is seen as a likely replacement for David Malpass who is expected to leave office on June 30 after resigning mid-last month.
The World Bank, a group of 187 nations, lends money to developing countries to help reduce poverty.
Malpass was appointed by former US President Donald Trump in 2019 for a five-year period. As the largest shareholder, the United States traditionally appoints its president.
He announced plans to step down on February 15, amid persistent criticism from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and White House climate adviser John Kerry who questioned his commitment to slowing climate change.
Malpass had in September last year failed to say whether he accepted the scientific consensus that man-made burning of fossil fuels was warming the planet.
“I’m not a scientist,” Malpass said at a New York Times event.
This is despite World Bank spending more than doubling its climate finance to developing nations to a record $32 billion last year.
