Sitharaman seeks enhanced support from international financial institutions for SDGs
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sought enhanced support from international financial institutions to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman participated virtually in the Third G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) Meeting under the Italian Presidency.
The two-day meeting held on July 9th and 10th, 2021 saw discussions on a wide range of issues including global economic risks and health challenges, policies for recovery from the CoVID-19 pandemic, international taxation, sustainable finance and financial sector issues.
The G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors reaffirmed their resolve to use all available policy tools for as long as required to address the adverse consequences of COVID-19.
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Sitharaman appreciated the Italian G20 Presidency for identifying three catalysts of resilient economic recovery from the pandemic as being Digitalization, Climate Action and Sustainable Infrastructure and shared the Indian experience of integrating technology with inclusive service delivery during the pandemic.
The Finance Minister shared recent policy responses of the Government of India to strengthen the health system and economy, including the efficient application of CoWIN Platform to scale up vaccination in India. Sitharaman added that this platform has been made freely available to all countries as humanitarian needs outweigh commercial considerations in this extraordinary crisis.
The Finance Minister stated that as the co-chair of Framework Working Group of the G20, India along with UK, views digitalization as an agenda that will continue to play a key role in bolstering economic growth.
Sitharaman referred to the global risks in view of the emerging CoVID-19 variants and highlighted the need for international coordination and cooperation on this front. The Finance Minister joined other G20 members in welcoming the Report of the G20 High-Level Independent Panel on Financing the Global Commons for Pandemic Preparedness and Response and emphasized the urgent need to strengthen multilateralism for global health.
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