US Department of State Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel on Friday said US nominee for World Bank presidency, Indian-American Ajay Banga is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at such a critical moment.

During a press briefing, Patel said, Ajay Banga “is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at such a critical moment, and he’s an exceptional candidate.” Banga’s “leadership skills and management experience, his experience in the financial sector, will help achieve the World’s Bank objectives by eliminating extreme poverty, expanding prosperity, while also doing so in a very evolving and dynamic global playing field, where we’re dealing with a lot of new and pressing issues and challenges, like climate change and global health challenges and other things as well,” Patel added.

The World Bank recently said that Indian-American Ajay Banga is the only candidate nominated for the President’s position as the nomination period closed on March 29.

The World Bank announced that Ajay Banga will be considered for the position.

In a press release issued on its website, the World Bank said, “The World Bank Group’s Board of Executive Directors confirmed that, as announced on February 22, the period for submitting nominations for the position of the next President of the World Bank Group closed on Wednesday, March 29 at 6:00 pm ET.”

The World Bank said, “The Board received one nomination and would like to announce that Mr Ajay Banga, a US national, will be considered for the position.” The World Bank said that a formal interview will be conducted with the candidate in Washington DC.

It said, “In accordance with established procedures, the Board of Executive Directors will conduct a formal interview with the candidate in Washington D.C., and expect to conclude the Presidential selection in due course.”

In February, US President Joe Biden nominated former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga to lead the World Bank.

In a statement, Biden had noted that Ajay Banga is “uniquely” equipped to lead the World Bank at a critical moment in history.

Biden’s statement read, “Ajay is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history. He has spent more than three decades building and managing successful, global companies that create jobs and bring investment to developing economies and guiding organizations through periods of fundamental change. He has a proven track record managing people and systems, and partnering with global leaders around the world to deliver results.”