Sitharaman, Yellen discuss strengthening India-US economic partnership

Washington [US], April 12 (ANI): Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday met with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on the sidelines of the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings 2023 in Washington.

The two leaders discussed strengthening the India-US economic and financial partnership and increasing engagements at bilateral and multilateral forums.

"Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman met with the United States Treasury Secretary Ms.@SecYellen on the sidelines of the @WorldBank and IMF #SpringMeetings 2023, in Washington D.C., today," tweeted the Ministry of Finance.

Taking the discussions ahead from their last meeting in November 22 during the Economic Financial Dialogue (EFD), in India, the two leaders discussed strengthening the India-US economic and financial partnership and increasing engagements at bilateral and multilateral forums.

"Wide-ranging conversation between Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on deepening bilateral economic partnership and engagement in multilateral fora," tweeted Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Indian Ambassador to the US.

Sitharaman, who is leading a high-powered delegation, appreciated the multi-faceted India-US partnership and called for further cooperation in addressing global economic challenges, including climate change. She also highlighted the role of G20, Quad, and IPEF in fostering this partnership.

"FM Smt. @nsitharaman appreciated the multi-faceted India-US partnership and called for further cooperation in addressing global economic challenges, including #ClimateChange. FM highlighted the role of #G20, QUAD and IPEF in fostering this partnership," tweeted the Ministry of Finance.

Sitharaman also emphasised the importance of coordinated global action to address debt vulnerability in low and middle-income countries, besides the need for financial support to help developing economies achieve their climate goals.

Yellen applauded India for focusing on advancing the evolution of the multilateral development bank during its G-20 presidency. She said the US was looking forward to continuing its close cooperation with India to help make India's G20 presidency a success.

"I want to commend your presidency for its focus on advancing the evolution of the multilateral development banks. As you know, this initiative is a priority of mine and will be a major focus of our conversations this week," she said.

Yellen said the G-20 can bring strong political momentum to bear to make sure that the multilateral development banks accelerate their work on 21st-century global challenges as part of their effort to end extreme poverty and expand shared prosperity.

She also said that having the right leadership at the World Bank is critical in furthering the progress that they have made.

The Finance Minister also met with the United States Ex-Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and discussed about the Digital Public Infrastructure, providing accessibility for all, including StartUps, besides supporting the growth of fintech.

"FM Smt. @nsitharaman informed Ms. @PennyPritzker that scaling up of #DigitalInfrastructure and adoption of tech by common people in India has been phenomenal in the last couple of years," tweeted the Ministry of Finance.

Sitharaman also highlighted that in the space of manufacturing, India has the right kind of skills, including manpower and language proficiency along with a huge domestic market which provides a significant scaling advantage to the private sector.

"In reference to the Union Budget 2023-24, FM Smt.@nsitharaman informed Ms. @PennyPritzker that India has announced setting up of 3 Centres of Excellence in the area of #ArtificialIntelligence as it is a key focus for the Government," added the tweet. (ANI)