FM Sitharaman meets Yellen; discusses strengthening India-US economic ties

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Tuesday met with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen here and the two leaders discussed strengthening the India-US economic and financial partnership and increasing engagements at bilateral and multilateral forums.

Sitharaman, who is leading a high-powered delegation, met Yellen on the sidelines of the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings 2023 here.

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

Sitharaman 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.

She "also emphasised the importance of coordinated global action to address #DebtVulnerability in low and middle-income countries, besides the need for financial support to help developing economies achieve their climate goals," the ministry said.

Sitharaman also met with former commerce secretary Penny Pritzker and they discussed about the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), providing accessibility for all, including Start Ups, besides supporting growth of FinTech.

She informed Pritzker that scaling up of Digital Infrastructure and adoption of tech by common people in India has been phenomenal in the last couple of years.

The minister 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, Sitharaman informed Pritzker that India has announced setting up of three centres of excellence in the area of artificial intelligence as it is a key focus for the government.