US candidate for World Bank chief meets PM, FM

Amid BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — members calling for a change in governance structure of the World Bank to reflect new realities, US nominee for the top post of the multi-lateral institution today sought India’s support for his candidacy.

Jim Yong Kim on Tuesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. The US candidate is understood to have asked for India’s backing for his bid to the top slot of the World Bank. Officials, however, said the meetings were just courtesy calls.

Kim, Dartmouth College president and global health expert, was picked up by US President Barack Obama to run for the World Bank presidentship. Besides Kim, two other candidates from emerging-market countries —Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and former Colombian Finance Minister Jose Antonio Ocampo — are also in the fray.

The BRICs nations, in their summit last month, called for leadership selection for the World Bank and International Monetary Fund “through an open and merit-based process”. BRICS members said the World Bank should have a “governance structure that reflects current economic and political reality.” Five BRICS nations account for nearly half the world’s population and one-fifth of its output.

Last year, Christine Lagarde of France got selected to head the IMF, even as Mexican candidate Agustin Carstens was also in the race.