Sitharaman discusses COVID-19, Russia-Ukraine conflict with World Bank president
Apr 22, 2022
Washington [US], April 23 : 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 impact of 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 world's 2nd largest vaccination programme, administering more than 1.85 billion doses of vaccines, she said.
"The two discussed India's continued recovery from COVID19, 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 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.
