Nirmala Sitharaman meets US Treasury Secy Yellen, discusses India-US economic partnership

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 Nirmala Sitharaman met with the United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on the sidelines of the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings 2023 in Washington DC, today,” tweeted the Ministry of Finance.

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

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. (1/4) pic.twitter.com/zn9FpNNa96

— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia)

The Finance Minister appreciated the multi-faceted India-US partnership and called for further cooperation in addressing global economic challenges, including Climate Change. Sitharaman highlighted the role of G-20, QUAD, and IPEF in fostering this partnership. 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. 

'US looking forward to continuing its close cooperation with India to help make India's G20 presidency a success': Yellen

Further, during the meeting, Yellen applauded India for focusing on advancing the evolution of the multilateral development bank during its G-20 presidency. Yellen said that the US was looking forward to continuing its close cooperation with India to help make India’s G-20 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.

Nirmala Sitharaman meets US Ex-Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker

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.

Union Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman met with the United States Ex-Commerce Secretary Ms. @PennyPritzker on the sidelines of the @WorldBank and IMF #SpringMeetings 2023, in Washington D.C., today. (1/5) pic.twitter.com/MpkCGhE5ih

— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia)

Sitharaman 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.