Sitharaman meets South African Finance Minister, discusses enhancing bilateral ties, economic cooperation
Apr 19, 2022
Washington [US], April 20 : Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on Tuesday in Washington DC and discussed enhancing bilateral ties between the two countries.
"Union Finance Minister @nsitharaman (Nirmala Sitharaman) met Godangwana Enoch, South Africa Finance Minister @TreasuryRSA on the sidelines of IMF-WB (International Monetary Fund-World Bank)Spring Meetings, at Washington D.C., today, to exchange views on issues of #Mutualinterests," Ministry of Finance said in a tweet.
"Both Ministers discussed enhancing #Bilateral ties and #EconomicPartnership and exploring opportunities to increase bilateral #investment and #trade," he added.
In the series of tweets, Finance Ministry further informed that the Union Finance Minister acknowledged South Africa's revenue collections for the fiscal year 2021-2022.
"Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman (Nirmala Sitharaman) also acknowledged South Africa's strong revenue collections in FY 2021-22 which helped boost the country's economy," the Ministry of Finance tweeted.
The Union Minister reached Washington today morning on an official visit to attend the Spring Meetings at the World Bank, the G20 Finance Ministers meeting and the Central Bank Governor Meeting (FMCBG).
During the first day of the visit, Finance Minister participated in a high-level panel discussion on "Money at a Crossroad" hosted by Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, IMF.
"We are at the crossroads around how fast, how far, and in what proportion, but I see this as a one-way street in which Digital Money is going to play a bigger role," the IMF chief said in her opening remarks.
Sitharaman highlighted India's performance in the digital world and the government's efforts to build the digital infrastructure framework over the last decade, stressing the increase of the digital adoption rate in India during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The IMF Managing Director lauded India's well-targeted policy mix that has helped the Indian economy remain resilient.
Georgieva highlighted the resilience of India which remains the fastest-growing country across the globe despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sitharaman called upon the IMF to support and urgently provide financial assistance to Sri Lanka. The Managing Director assured the Finance Minister that the IMF would continue to actively engage with Sri Lanka, the Ministry stated.
During the meeting, they discussed several issues currently being faced by the global and the regional economies.
Notably, once the meetings conclude in Washington, Sitharaman will head to San Francisco on April 24, where she will engage with business leaders and will also interact with the faculty and students at Stanford University. She will depart for India on April 27.
