World Bank President Jim Yong Kim meets Modi

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim on Thursday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and noted he was "impressed" by the progress made by India towards ambitious programmes like Smart Cities, Power for all and Swachh Bharat, an official statement said.

"Kim said he was impressed by the progress made towards the ambitious targets in these programmes (Smart Cities, Ganga Rejuvenation, Skill Development, Swachh Bharat and Power for All)," the prime minister's office said in a statement.

The World Bank chief also appreciated India's rapid progress in improving the ease of doing business, especially in the area of logistics, the statement said.

Kim assured of the World Bank's proactive support towards the agenda of climate change financing to countries like India, which are consciously choosing to follow an environmentally sustainable path.

"During the meeting, the Prime Minister expressed happiness at the World Bank's continued support to India, especially in priority areas," it said.

Modi and Kim discussed a broad range of issues and possible avenues of cooperation, it added.

The World Bank President is on a visit to India to review the progress of prioroty areas for the multilateral lending agency.

"The trip is to explore how the World Bank could provide knowledge and financing to India's reforms development agenda," Kim said.

India is the largest client of the World Bank Group with the multilateral institution lending around $5.3 billion between 2015-2016.

--IANS

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