Jaitley to embark on 5-day visit to US

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will on Wednesday leave for a five-day visit to the US to attend the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, an official said.

Jaitley will also take part in a G-20 meeting on the financial sector, as well as interact with American investors, he added.

The Minister will leave on Wednesday evening and arrive in Washington early morning on April 20, a Finance Ministry statement said here.

Jaitley's delegation includes, among others, Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) Arvind Subramanian, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel, it said.

On April 21, Jaitley, along with the RBI Governor and Economic Affairs Secretary, will participate in the G-20 meeting on financial sector development and regulations and other issues, the statement added.

As per their Washington itinerary, Jaitley, Patel and Das will, on the same afternoon, attend a meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) on Global Development and Prospects.

"In the evening (April 21), the Finance Minister along with Secretary Economic Affairs will hold a meeting with the CEOs," the Ministry said.

On April 22, following two IMFC sessions, Jaitley will meet US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, it added.

Later that day, Jaitley is slated to meet Bangladesh Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, as well as with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim.

After the first leg of his tour, Jaitley will, on April 23, reach New York, where he will interact with the Council for Foreign Relations, followed by a meeting with institutional investors.

Thereafter, he will meet long-term investors on April 24, the Indian Finance Ministry said.

"The Finance Minister is supposed to meet the editorial board of the New York Times before leaving for Moscow in the evening on April 24," it added.

Jaitley, who has additional charge of the Defence portfolio, will hold bilateral discussions in Moscow to boost India-Russia military ties.

--IANS

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