Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to focus on the most vulnerable citizens of the world and said that global economic leadership can win back the confidence of the world only by creating an inclusive agenda.

He was addressing the first meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors under India’s G20 Presidency at Bengaluru, via a video message. Mr Modi said “The theme of our G20 Presidency promotes this inclusive vision – One Earth, One Family, One Future.”

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The prime minister underlined that this was the first ministerial-level dialogue under India’s G20 Presidency and conveyed his best wishes for a productive meeting.

The participants at today’s meeting represent leadership of global finance and economy at a time when the world is facing serious economic difficulties, he said. He gave examples of the Covid pandemic and its after-effects on the global economy, rising geo-political tensions, disruptions in global supply chains, rising prices, food and energy security, unsustainable debt levels affecting the viability of many countries, and the erosion of trust in international financial institutions due to their inability to reform quickly.

Modi pointed out that it is now up to the custodians of the leading economies and monetary systems of the world to bring back stability, confidence and growth to the global economy.

The progress on Sustainable Development Goals seems to be slowing down even though the world population has crossed eight billion, he said. There is need to strengthen Multilateral Development Banks for meeting global challenges like climate change and high debt levels, he said.

Casting spotlight on the vibrancy of the Indian economy, the Prime Minister highlighted the optimism of Indian consumers and producers about the future of India’s economy and hoped that the member-participants would draw inspiration while transmitting the same positive spirit to the global level.

Highlighting the growing dominance of technology in the world of finance, the Prime Minister recalled how digital payments enabled contactless and seamless transactions during the pandemic. He urged the member participants to explore and harness the power of technology while developing standards to regulate its possible risk of destabilization and misuse in digital finance.

The prime minister noted that India has created a highly secure, highly trusted, and highly efficient public digital infrastructure in its digital payments ecosystem over the past few years. “Our digital payments ecosystem has been developed as a free public good”, the Prime Minister remarked as he underlined that it has radically transformed governance, financial inclusion, and ease of living in the country.

Noting that the meeting is taking place in Bengaluru, the technology capital of India, the Prime Minister said that participants can get first-hand experience of how Indian consumers have embraced digital payments.

He said the new system created during India’s G20 Presidency allows G20 guests to use India’s path-breaking digital payments platform, UPI. “Examples like UPI can be templates for many other countries too. We would be happy to share our experience with the world and the G20 can be a vehicle for this,” the Prime Minister said.