Sitharaman, Yellen urge bilateral cooperation amid geopolitical uncertainty

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday called for increased cooperation between India and the US amid global headwinds caused by geopolitical uncertainties.

“The world economy was still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic when Russia launched its brutal, unjustified invasion of Ukraine. This generated an unwelcome shock to fuel and food prices and greatly exacerbated inflation pressures. But challenges like this help strengthen partnerships like the one that exists between the U.S. and India by demonstrating the necessity of cooperation and clear and open communication,” Yellen said in New Delhi ahead of her bilateral discussion with Sitharaman.

Sitharaman said: “We will continue to rely on close cooperation with the United States to address the global economic challenges in a more coordinated manner and in strengthening multilateralism.”

Yellen said that India-US’ ties can be instrumental for economic prosperity across the Indo-Pacific region, and that the US is looking forward to discussing shared priorities as India assumes the presidency of G-20.

“We also hope that the mutual understanding we build will help us work together to advance our shared goals, including mitigating the existential risk of climate change, evolving multilateral institutions, and addressing the debt burden faced by many developing countries,” Yellen said.

“Our strong ties are reinforced through significant and frequent interactions between our Prime Minister and the President of the United States and commitment of both the leaders towards consolidating a strategic partnership. The Quad and Indo-Pacific Economic Framework have further expanded our cooperation,” Sitharaman said.

The Finance Minister added that these platforms serve as important fora for a stronger collaboration in developing sustainable economies, ensuring global health security, resilient supply chains, clean energy technologies, green infrastructure and climate finance.

“Our meeting today will lend greater vigour to our economic relationship, strengthen business-to-business links, and facilitate coordinated policy stance to address the pressing global economic challenges,” she said.

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth and Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran were also present in the discussions.