President Tharman to co-chair World Bank’s new advisory council on jobs

SINGAPORE: President Tharman Shanmugaratnam will co-chair a new World Bank advisory council focused on tackling the looming jobs crisis in the Global South, the Istana said on Monday (Aug 12).
The council, which was launched on Monday, will provide the World Bank Group with advice and recommendations on policies and programmes to address the issue. 
It will bring together leading experts across government, business, civil society and academia to “offer thought leadership and actionable strategies for creating large-scale employment opportunities”, the Istana said in a news release. 
“The strategies developed will be examined within the World Bank Group with a view to piloting them with countries in real-world applications.” 
Mr Tharman and Michelle Bachelet, former President of the Republic of Chile, have accepted the World Bank Group’s invitation to lead the high-level advisory council on jobs for two years ending July 2026.
Mr Tharman will take on the role in his independent capacity, following the advice of the Cabinet that “it is in the national interest for President to perform this role”.
A legal framework for the President and ministers to hold roles in foreign and global organisations in their private capacities was approved in parliament last year. This framework stipulates that the President and ministers can perform international roles when the Cabinet advises that it is in the national interest to do so.
Each of Mr Tharman’s roles has been approved by Cabinet as being in the national interest, and carry no remuneration, the Istana said on Monday.
Mr Tharman is currently the chair of the Board of Trustees of the Group of Thirty (G30), the co-chair of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum. 
His role as co-chair of the advisory board to the United Nations Human Development Report concluded on Jun 30 this year.