US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday said that Washington is working with India to develop an investment platform to lower the cost of capital and increase private investment to fast-track India's energy transition, news agency Reuters reported. Yellen, after a bi-lateral meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the sidelines of a G20 meeting, said the two nations have been collaborating across a range of economic issues, including commercial and technological collaboration and strengthening supply chains.
She said, "In particular, we look forward to working with India on an investment platform to deliver a lower cost of capital and increased private investment to speed India's energy transition. According to Reuters, Yellen said the two countries are close to reaching an agreement on the global minimum tax system. The visit is Yellen's third to India this year, indicating the growing closeness between the two countries.
The improvement in bilateral relations was highlighted during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Washington last month which saw a slew of defence and high technology deals being signed.
Sitharaman said she was looking forward to furthering bilateral interests through development cooperation and new investment opportunities through alternate investment platforms for renewable energy. "As we look ahead, we reaffirm our commitment to achieve substantial outcomes through close engagement," she added.
Yellen, who will visit Vietnam after the G20 finance meetings end on July 18 (Tuesday), on Sunday said the US sees India as an “indispensable partner” for friendshoring and she hopes to use her visit here to deepen what is already a significant relationship in that respect. Derisking and friendshoring are important priorities for the US, and something that it is promoting in India, Yellen told reporters ahead of her meeting with finance ministers from G20 nations in Gujarat, as reported by PTI.
Yellen said, “Friendshoring is an important foundation of our approach to increasing resilience of our supply chains, and we see India as an indispensable partner in that and I hope to use this trip to deepen what is already a significant relationship with respect to friendshoring that the US and India have." The US-India bilateral ties have reached an all-time high, and the two countries are looking to see it grow even more, she said.
Private sector is a really important point of friendshoring, and private firms have continued to make announcements of investing in India as they see India as “an excellent place to be producing and exporting to the US,” she added.