JOHANNESBURG, March 22 (Reuters) – The finance ministers of
South Africa, Nigeria and Angola called a news conference for
Friday likely to address reports that they are backing Nigerian
Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to become President of the
World Bank.
“The Finance Ministers of Angola, Nigeria and South Africa
are meeting in Pretoria tomorrow,” a statement from South
Africa’s Treasury said, without giving details of the agenda.
Okonjo-Iweala and former Colombian Finance Minister Jose
Antonio Ocampo are set to make the first concerted challenge to
the U.S. grip on the top job at the World Bank, sources told
Reuters this week.
Brazil said this week that both Okonjo-Iweala and Ocampo
would be “great” candidates to replace Robert Zoellick as head
of the Washington-based development institution, the latest sign
of emerging nations wanting more say in how it is run.
Washington has held the presidency since the bank’s founding
after World War Two, while a European has always led its sister
organization, the International Monetary Fund.
Despite the push by emerging nations, the United States has
the bank’s largest voting share and is expected to win the
support of most developed nations, making it likely that another
American will succeed Zoellick.
The United States has yet to identify a nominee.
(Reporting by Stella Mapenzauswa; Editing by Ed Cropley)
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