Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met with World Bank President David Malpass in Washington on Friday and discussed several key economic issues including India’s continued recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
They also discussed India’s upcoming G20 Presidency and World Bank leadership in India. During the meeting, the Finance Minister stated that India’s pandemic response has focused on the twin goals of saving lives and livelihoods. India has been successfully running the world’s 2nd largest vaccination program, administering more than 1.85 billion doses of vaccines, she said.
“The two discussed India’s continued recovery from COVID19, the impact of Russia-Ukraine conflict, Single Borrower Limit and exploring the possibility of Guarantees from other G-7 nations, India’s G20 Presidency and @WorldBank leadership in India,” the Finance Ministry tweeted.
The two discussed India’s continued #recovery from #COVID19, impact of Russia-Ukraine conflict, Single Borrower Limit & exploring the possibility of Guarantees from other G-7 nations, India’s #G20Presidency and @WorldBank leadership in India. (2/6)
— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) April 22, 2022
The Finance Minister also suggested that multilateralism has become more critical as the world is undergoing a phase of exceptional uncertainty. “Finance Minister mentioned that India remains concerned about the risks to global recovery due to rising uncertainty amidst enhanced geopolitical tensions,” the finance ministry said.
She also highlighted India’s roadmap for infrastructure development.
“Finance Minister Smt.@nsitharaman highlighted India’s roadmap for infrastructure development and look forward to @WorldBank ‘s continued support for financing #investments for the National Infrastructure Pipeline NIP and PMGatiShakti programme,” the ministry said.
During the US visit, Sitharaman delivered remarks at the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) Development Committee Plenary.
She also held a series of bilateral meetings with her counterparts including ones from Indonesia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Singapore.
Sitharaman also met with senior officials of multilateral institutions including OECD, IMF, President CoP-26; and Vice-Chair of Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net-Zero.
She attended a FATF Ministerial Meeting and meeting with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
The Finance Minister also engaged the strategic community at Atlantic Council on India’s economic recovery, reforms and initiatives.