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First ever Indian-American to head World Bank

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Former Mastercard boss Ajay Banga has been elected to lead the World Bank as it strives to help low-income countries overcome debt and combat climate change.

Mr Banga, nominated by President Joe Biden for the post, is the first-ever Indian American to head the bank.

He will replace David Malpass, who had sparked outcry by appearing to question the role of humans in climate change.

He begins his five-year term on 2 June.

Now a US citizen, Mr Banga started his career in his native India, where his father was an officer in the army. He worked at Nestle and Citigroup before joining Mastercard where he stayed for more than a decade.

US President Joe Biden called him “a transformative leader” who had the experience to run the World Bank.

“He will help steer the institution as it evolves and expands to address global challenges that directly affect its core mission of poverty reduction — including climate change,” Mr Biden said.

In announcing Mr Banga’s confirmation, the bank’s executive directors said in a statement that they looked forward to working with him “on all the World Bank Group’s ambitions and efforts aimed at tackling the toughest development challenges facing developing countries.”

The US, the World Bank’s biggest shareholder, has traditionally been in charge of selecting the person to lead the institution, which lends billions of dollars to countries each year.

Developing countries have in the past complained about this, but Mr Banga was the only candidate for president.

“Ajay was elected with resounding approval from the executive directors, and will start his mandate with incredibly strong support from the membership of the World Bank,” a senior US official said about the vote.

Mr Banga’s appointment comes at a consequential moment for the development organisation.

The US and other wealthy nations have been pushing the bank to increase its lending to fight climate change. The bank’s $100bn (£80bn) per year or so of loans to help developing countries cope with climate change falls far short of the $1tn they say is needed.

Many developing nations are worried the focus on climate change will divert attention away from its anti-poverty efforts.

Developing countries have been hard hit by the pandemic, rises in food and in energy prices, and unsustainable levels of debt.

As president of the World Bank, Mr Banga will have to address these issues – all without any clear additional money on the table.

In an interview with the BBC in in March, when Mr Banga was on a listening tour in Africa, he said he wanted the bank to be a “catalyst” and “thought leader” for action,

“We also need to bring in the private sector to be able to reach these ambitious targets that we all have,” he said.

(BBC News)

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Foreign Ministers of UK, France, Germany & Iran to meet

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UK, French and German foreign ministers will hold talks with their Iranian counterpart in Geneva today as part of efforts to end the Israel-Iran conflict.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy is travelling to Geneva for a meeting with his French and German counterparts, as well as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas is also expected to attend.

If they go ahead, the talks will be the first between Iranian and Western leaders since Israel began its strikes a week ago, and are expected to focus on bringing Iran to the negotiating table.

Meanwhile, the White House says that Donald Trump will decide in the next two weeks whether the US will get directly involved in the conflict.

In a White House press briefing, press secretary Karoline Leavitt delivers a message directly from US President Donald Trump.

Leavitt says amid reports of whether the US will be directly involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran, Trump says: “Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.”

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) says it carried out dozens of strikes overnight, targeting several sites in Tehran with more than 60 Israeli fighter jets.

Around 120 munitions were used to carry out the strikes, which targeted military missile production sites and a nuclear research centre, which Israel’s military says was involved in Iran’s nuclear weapons development.

Overnight, the IDF also said that Iran carried out strikes on Israel, with reports of hits in the south of the country.

Iran has not commented on these strikes.

(BBC News)

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China-South Asia Expo kicks off in Kunming

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The 9th China-South Asia Expo opened yesterday (June 19) in Kunming, the capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province.
The five-day event is a key platform for economic and trade exchanges between China and South Asia. Exhibitors from over 50 countries are expected to participate, including full representation from all South Asian nations.

This year, Sri Lanka has been designated as the Guest of Honor Country at the Expo.

Notably, China-Sri Lanka bilateral trade reached a record high of USD 5.36 billion in 2024, representing a 13.4% year-on-year increase. This makes Sri Lanka China’s fastest-growing trade partner in South Asia.

The Sri Lankan pavilion was officially declared open by Sri Lanka’s Minister of Trade and Commerce – Wasantha Samarasinghe and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment – Arun Hemachandra, who jointly led the country’s high-level delegation to the prestigious regional event.

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India won’t accept third-party mediation on Kashmir, Modi tells Trump

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told US President Donald Trump that Delhi will never accept third-party mediation with Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir, India’s senior-most diplomat said.

Foreign secretary Vikram Misri said that Modi “strongly” conveyed India’s long-held stand to Trump during a phone call between the two leaders on Tuesday.

Trump has repeatedly offered to mediate between India and Pakistan to solve the “Kashmir issue” since a four-day conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May.

The White House has not commented on India’s statement.

Mr Misri also said that Modi told Trump “clearly” that during the duration of the conflict, “no talks were held at any level on the India-America trade deal or on the mediation between India and Pakistan by America”.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that India and Pakistan ended the conflict after a ceasefire brokered by the US and also that he used trade as a lever to make them agree. Pakistan has backed US claims of brokering the ceasefire but India has denied it.

“The talks regarding cessation of military action were held directly between India and Pakistan under the existing channels established between both militaries,” Mr Misri said.

Last month, Trump told reporters: “I said, ‘Come on, we’re going to do a lot of trade with you guys [India and Pakistan]. Let’s stop it. Let’s stop it. If you stop it, we’ll do a trade. If you don’t stop it, we’re not going to do any trade.'”

Delhi is rushing to negotiate a trade deal with the Trump administration before a 90-day pause on higher tariffs ends on 9 July.

Kashmir is a contentious issue for both India and and Pakistan, who claim the region in whole, but administer it only in part. Bilateral talks over several decades have not led to any resolution.

India treats Kashmir as an integral part of its territory and rules out any negotiation, particularly through a third party.

Tensions escalated between the South Asian neighbours after India blamed Pakistan for a 22 April attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir in which 26 people, mainly tourists, were killed. Islamabad denied the charge.

In May, India carried out air strikes on what it called terrorist infrastructure inside Pakistan, leading to four days of intense military action from both sides of the border.

Both countries accused each other of targeting airbases and other military sites.

As the conflict between the two nuclear-armed nations threatened to escalate further, Trump announced on 10 May that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate ceasefire”, brokered by the US.

Later, in a post on Truth Social, he said: “I will work with you both to see if, after a thousand years, a solution can be arrived at, concerning Kashmir.” (The Kashmir issue only dates back to 1947).

A statement by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio the same day said that the two countries had also agreed “to start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site”.

On 11 May, Trump repeated praise for India and Pakistan’s leaders for understanding it was “time to stop the current aggression”, adding that he was proud the US “was able to help you arrive at this historic and heroic decision”.

After Trump’s statement on the ceasefire, Pakistan’s foreign minister said the agreement had been reached by the two countries, adding that “three dozen countries” were involved in the diplomacy.

India has, however, consistently denied any intervention by the US.

Analysts say Trump’s very public statements on offers of mediation over Kashmir have tested Delhi’s red lines on the issue.

Delhi has always encouraged its Western partners not to treat India and Pakistan as equals. It also discourages western leaders from undertaking visits to India and Pakistan at the same time.

But Trump’s tweets often hold India and Pakistan as equals. This has caused some discomfort in Delhi’s diplomatic circles but analysts believe it’s too early to say whether this will affect ongoing trade deal talks between Washington and Delhi.

(BBC News)

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