World Bank Race: Ocampo to Withdraw for Okonjo-Iweala

The World Bank
presidential nominee, Jose
Antonio Ocampo of Colombia
The chances of Nigeria’s
Finance Minister, Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala becoming the
next
head of the World
Bank, received a massive
boost Friday with news that
former Colombian finance
minister, Jose Antonio
Ocampo is set to withdraw
his nomination for the
presidency.
He is expected to make a
formal announcement to this
effect
on Friday in an
agreement among emerging
and developing countries to
coalesce
around one
nominee, three sources
said.
This means Mrs Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala would remain
as
the sole candidate from
developing nations in a
race against U.S. nominee
Jim Yong Kim, a Korean-
American health expert who
is seen as the favourite to
win the race.
A straw poll among World
Bank directors
representing the Group of
11, which includes emerging
countries and Australia,
backed Okonjo-Iweala, the
sources said.
Only last week, a group of
retired World Bank workers
released
a statement
expressing their support
for the Nigerian.
Emerging market nations
are seeking to challenge
U.S. leadership at the bank
to increase their influence
in global economic
institutions long controlled
by rich nations.
While Kim is still the
favourite to win the World
Bank presidency because
of his backing from the
United States and European
countries, a rigorous
challenge from emerging
market countries could put
them in a stronger position
to extract concessions
favourable to their
interests and also increase
their odds of winning senior
jobs in the future.
Earlier, Brazilian Finance
Minister Guido Mantega said
that the BRICS group of
emerging market countries
is likely to make a joint
decision on who to support
for the World Bank top post
as soon as Friday.
Mantega told reporters the
five countries were still
discussing which candidate
they would support. The
BRICS group also includes
Russia, India, China and
South Africa.
Ocampo, who met with
Mantega on Thursday, said
developing nations wanted
a single candidate to
challenge Kim.