Banga To Spotlight Youth Employment, Private Investment At World Bank Plenary

WASHINGTON, DC- World Bank Group President Ajay Banga will outline his jobs-first development agenda at the closing plenary of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, on October 16, with creating employment opportunities for a rapidly growing young workforce expected to be central to his address.

Banga, who was born in Pune and educated in India, will speak alongside IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva at the October 16 plenary. The Annual Meetings, being held from October 12 to 18, are focused on “jobs, investment, growth, and practical solutions for development,” the World Bank said.

Banga has made job creation the organizing theme of his presidency, emphasizing the need to generate employment for young people entering the workforce. Speaking at a panel on artificial intelligence and jobs earlier in the week, he said 1.2 billion young people would turn 18 over the next 15 years.

He has stressed the role of private investment in creating jobs, saying governments enable economic activity while the private sector generates between 75% and 85% of jobs in any country.

On artificial intelligence, Banga has argued that emerging markets should prioritize practical applications in schools, health systems and agriculture rather than focus exclusively on large language models. The World Bank calls this approach “small AI”.

At a civil society town hall during the meetings, Banga warned that development finance was under strain, citing tighter fiscal space, rising debt, pressure on aid budgets and higher energy and fertilizer costs.

“We’ve got to make these limited public resources go much further,” he said, pointing to the World Bank’s Philanthropy Hub, launched in Bangkok on October 12, as a way to mobilize additional capital for development.

India is among the World Bank’s largest borrowers and a major shareholder. Banga took charge of the institution in June 2023 after being nominated by the United States.

His address comes as the IMF has flagged slowing global growth amid energy-price shocks and high public debt. (IANS)