English subtitles for clip: File:President Obama Nominates Jim Yong Kim for World Bank President.webm

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The President:
Good morning, everybody.

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In February, Bob Zoellick, the
current President of the World

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Bank, announced that he would be
stepping down at the end of his

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term in June.

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Bob has been a strong and
effective leader at the bank for

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the last five years, and when
he told me about his plans,

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I immediately began to search
for someone to fill his shoes.

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Now, despite its name, the World
Bank is more than just a bank.

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It's one of the most powerful
tools we have to reduce poverty

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and raise standards of living in
some of the poorest countries on

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the planet.

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And in a world that is growing
smaller and more connected every

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day, that's a critical mission
-- not just for those who are

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struggling, but for all of us.

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When we reduce
hunger in the world,

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or help a farmer recover
from a flood or a drought,

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it strengthens the
entire world economy.

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When we put an end to
a preventable disease,

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all of us are safer
because of it.

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When an entrepreneur can
start a new business,

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it creates jobs
in their country,

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but also opens up new
markets for our country.

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And ultimately, when a nation
goes from poverty to prosperity,

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it makes the world stronger
and more secure for everybody.

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That's why the World
Bank is so important.

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And that's why the leader of the
World Bank should have a deep

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understanding of both the role
that development plays in the

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world, and the importance of
creating conditions where

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assistance is no longer needed.

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I believe that nobody is more
qualified to carry out that

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mission than Dr. Jim Kim.

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It's time for a development
professional to lead the world's

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largest development agency.

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And that's why today, after a
careful and thorough search,

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I am nominating Dr. Jim Kim to
be the next president of the

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World Bank.

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Jim has spent more than two
decades working to improve

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conditions in developing
countries around the world.

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As a physician and
an anthropologist,

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he co-founded
Partners in Health,

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and led a World Health
Organization campaign

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to treat 3 million
patients with HIV/AIDS.

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I have made HIV/AIDS and the
fight against that dreaded

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disease and the promotion of
public health a cornerstone of

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my development agenda, building
on some of the outstanding work

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that was done by President Bush.

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We pursue these efforts around
the globe because it's the right

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thing to do, and also because
healthy populations enable

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growth and prosperity.

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And I'm pleased that Jim brings
this particular experience with

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him to his new job.

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Jim was also the chair of the
Department of Global Health

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and Social Medicine at
Harvard Medical School.

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He has earned a MacArthur
"Genius" Fellowship.

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And for the last three years,
he has served as the president

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of Dartmouth College.

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I should also mention that,
after immigrating to this

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country from Korea at age five,
Jim went on to become the

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president of his
high school class,

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the quarterback of
the football team,

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the point guard of
the basketball team.

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I just found out he is
a five handicap in golf.

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I'm a little resentful
about that last item.

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(laughter)

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But he does it all.

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Jim has truly global experience.

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He's worked from Asia to Africa
to the Americas -- from capitals

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to small villages.

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His personal story exemplifies
the great diversity of our

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country and the fact that anyone
can make it as far as he has as

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long as they're willing to work
hard and look out for others.

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And his experience makes
him ideally suited to forge

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partnerships all
around the world.

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So I could not be more pleased
to nominate Jim for this job,

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and I think I can speak for
Secretary Clinton and Secretary

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Geithner when I say that
we are looking forward to

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working with him.

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And I also want to take a minute
to thank Bob Zoellick once again

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for all his hard work.

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Over the last five years,
Bob has made the bank more

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transparent, he has helped
shore up progress made in

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places like Afghanistan.

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He's raised billions of dollars
to help some of the world's

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poorest communities.

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Jim is the right person
to carry on that legacy,

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and I know his unique set of
skills and years of experience

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will serve him well.

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So I'm grateful to Jim for
his willingness to serve.

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I do not think that the World
Bank could have a better leader.

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So, thank you.

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Dr. Kim:
Mr. President, thank you.

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The President:
Thank you.

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Dr. Kim:
Thank you, sir.

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The President:
You're going to do great.

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Thank you. All right?

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The Press:
Mr. President, may I ask
you about this current case

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in Florida, very controversial,
allegations of lingering racism

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within our society -- the
so-called do not -- I'm sorry

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-- Stand Your Ground law
and the justice in that?

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Can you comment on the
Trayvon Martin case, sir?

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The President:
Well, I'm the head of
the executive branch,

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and the Attorney General reports
to me so I've got to be careful

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about my statements to make sure
that we're not impairing any

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investigation that's
taking place right now.

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But obviously,
this is a tragedy.

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I can only imagine what these
parents are going through.

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And when I think about this
boy, I think about my own kids.

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And I think every parent in
America should be able to

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understand why it is absolutely
imperative that we investigate

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every aspect of this, and that
everybody pulls together --

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federal, state and local
-- to figure out exactly

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how this tragedy happened.

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So I'm glad that not only is the
Justice Department looking into

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it, I understand now that the
governor of the state of Florida

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has formed a task force to
investigate what's taking place.

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I think all of us have to do
some soul searching to figure

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out how does something
like this happen.

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And that means that examine the
laws and the context for what

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happened, as well as the
specifics of the incident.

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But my main message is to the
parents of Trayvon Martin.

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If I had a son, he'd
look like Trayvon.

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And I think they are right
to expect that all of us as

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Americans are going to take
this with the seriousness it

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deserves, and that we're
going to get to the bottom

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of exactly what happened.

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Thank you.