Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held bilateral talks with her American counterpart, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, during which Ms. Yellen announced that she would visit India in November.
“I am glad to announce today that in November ahead of the G20 meetings, I will take my first trip to India as Treasury Secretary, to attend the U.S.-India Economic and Financial Partnership, our ninth Partnership meeting,” Ms. Yellen said, as the two delegations sat across the table from each other at the U.S. Treasury on Tuesday evening.
Ms. Sitharaman confirmed the dialogue would take place on November 11 in New Delhi.
“The agenda is, of course, wide and varied,” she said about next month’s meetings, highlighting a few key areas up for discussion.
This included taking stock of the world economy; financial, regulatory and technical collaboration; cooperation during the G20 Presidency of India; how municipal bonds can be of help to India; and attracting infrastructure investments.
Ms. Sitharaman, who is in Washington D.C. for the World Bank IMF Annual Meetings, was accompanied by six delegates for Tuesday’s talks, including India’s U.S. Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu.
‘Democracies deliver’
“This partnership is not only vital to our core economic interests, but it also demonstrates to our citizens and the world that democracies deliver,” Ms. Yellen said, using a line by U. S. President Joe Biden about democracies delivering.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with other delegates during the meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Washington D.C. | Photo Credit: Sriram Lakshman
Ms. Yellen said the two countries faced headwinds from COVID-19 and Russia’s war on Ukraine, noting the impact these had had on food and energy prices. The Treasury Secretary said she looked forward to discussing how both countries would strengthen supply chains and invest in clean energy.
Ms Yellen also said they would discuss how America is taking steps “to keep the oil markets well-supplied in the near term” given that high oil prices were affecting consumers in both countries.
She also made a reference to wanting to discuss how the U. S. could support India during its G20 presidency (starting in December) and said the U. S. was “pleased” that India was joining the Indo-Pacific Economic Partnership.
