Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to visit the US to attend key meetings of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) starting Monday, the finance ministry said on Saturday.
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She will interact with investors, economists and think tanks; participate in bilateral engagements, including a meeting with US treasury secretary Janet Yellen, and discuss key issues such as strengthening of multilateral development banks, digital public infrastructure and crypto assets, the ministry said in a statement.
She will be embarking on an official visit from April 10 to 16, accompanied by officials of her ministry and the Reserve Bank of India. Sitharaman and central bank governor Shaktikanta Das will jointly chair the second G20 FMCBG meeting on April 12-13, the statement said.
Key engagements of the minister include spring meetings of IMF-WB, the Second G20 FMCBG meeting under India’s presidency, other G20-related side events, World Bank Development Committee and IMF Committee plenaries, bilateral engagements with countries and international organisations, interaction with global business leaders and investors in roundtables and engagement with the Indian diaspora, it said.
The FMCBG meeting is expected to be attended by about 350 delegates from G20 countries, 13 invitee nations and various international and regional organisations. The meeting will take stock of the progress made on outcomes envisaged under India’s G20 Finance Track agenda, the ministry said.
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On the sidelines of the spring annual meetings of the World Bank, Sitharaman will have bilateral engagements with counterparts from G20 countries and heads of other delegations, including international organisations, to discuss issues and areas of mutual interest and cooperation under India’s G20 presidency.
On April 11, the finance minister will meet US treasury secretary Janet Yellen to discuss issues of mutual interest. On April 14, she will attend a seminar to review the financial implications of crypto assets and discuss policies to leverage benefits and contain risks.
