(Bloomberg) -- The US nominee for World Bank President Ajay Banga tested positive for Covid-19 upon arriving in India for a two-day visit that would have included a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Banga is under quarantine in isolation, the US embassy in New Delhi said in a statement. The former Mastercard CEO was also set to meet with India’s finance and foreign ministers to discuss the South Asian country’s development priorities and economic challenges.

US President Joe Biden last month nominated Banga to succeed David Malpass as World Bank president — a post that Washington’s choice has traditionally taken given America is the largest shareholder. Banga started his world tour earlier in March to meet with member nations and build support for his candidacy. 

India along with countries like Germany, France, Saudi Arabia and UK have endorsed Banga’s candidacy, the US embassy said. However, some progressive groups have decried Biden’s nominee as a forfeited opportunity to tap a candidate with deep public-sector experience combating economic inequality and climate change. 

Banga visited China earlier this week where he met with Finance Minister Liu Kun, leaders of the People’s Bank of China and the president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. China has insisted that the World Bank and other multilateral development lenders be included in debt restructuring of distressed nations — a stance partly driven by a Chinese view of those institutions as proxies for US power.

US World Bank Nominee to Visit China, Discuss Development Goals

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