Will Push For Meaningful Debt Treatment For Developing Countries: Yellen Ahead Of Key G20 Finance Meet

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke about G20 goals while highlighting US sanctions to degrade Russia's ability to fight the "unjust" war in Ukraine.

New Delhi: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday said that she will look forward to continuing the G20 goal by advancing work on debt, climate change, and the evolution of multilateral development banks. According to her, the US will push for all bilateral official creditors including China to participate in meaningful debt treatment for developing countries. 

Yellen addressed a press conference after meeting Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ahead of the First G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting scheduled on February 24 and 25 in Bengaluru under the G20 Indian Presidency.

With respect to the global economy, the US Treasury Secretary opined that it is in a better place today. "The IMF has predicted global growth of 3.2% in 2023, a notable upgrade since its October report. We are beginning to see lower headline inflation around the globe," she said, as quoted by news agency ANI.

"I'll look forward to continuing the G20 goal by advancing work on debt, climate change, and evolution of multilateral development banks. I'll push for all bilateral official creditors including China to participate in meaningful debt treatment for developing countries," Yellen added.

US Sanctions Had Very Significant Negative Effect On Russia: Janet Yellen

At the presser, she highlighted that the US sanctions have had a very significant negative effect on Russia while warning that Washington will continue to make it clear to the Chinese, rules regarding sanctions and consequences for violating them.

"We expect to provide Ukraine around USD 10 billion in additional economic support in coming months," Janet Yellen said, as per news agency PTI. "We are working with our allies to continue to degrade Russia's ability to fight this unjust war," she added.

The US Treasury Secretary claimed that Russia was suffering in terms of its budget and its ability to acquire what it needs and that the US will continue to impose further sanctions

"Russia is now running a significant budget deficit, its revenues were down in Jan almost 50 per cent from where it was last year," she said, as per PTI. "Our sanctions have had a very significant negative effect on Russia so far," she added.

After US State Secretary Antony Blinken accused of Beijing mulling proving arms to Moscow in its Ukraine invasion, Yellen remarked: "Will continue to make it clear to the Chinese, rules regarding sanctions and consequences for violating them."

According to news agency ANI, Yellen stressed, "As President Biden said we'll stand with Ukraine in its fight. We commend our allies for stepping up their direct assistance. Continued robust support for Ukraine will be a major topic of discussion during my time in India."

"Our twin goals include degrading Russia’s militarily industrial complex and reduce revenues that they can use to fund wars. The Russian military is struggling to replace over 9,000 pieces of military equipment," she mentioned.

 

Sitharaman, Yellen Exchange Views On G20 Finance Track Priorities Under G20 India Presidency

Earlier in the day, Nirmala Sitharaman and her US counterpart exchanged views on G20 Finance Track priorities under G20 India Presidency in 2023.

"The two leaders discussed their perspectives on strengthening #MDB (Multilateral Development Banks), #GlobalDebt vulnerabilities, #CryptoAssets, and #health, besides the Just Energy Transition Partnership #JETP and possible takeaways for the two sides," the Ministry of Finance said in a tweet.

It further stated that both sides agreed that lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic should not be lost sight of and there is a need for enhancing preparedness for future pandemic-type shocks.

While at the G20 in India, Yellen will join with allies in holding Russia accountable for its illegal invasion of Ukraine, and partner with countries to mitigate the spillover effects of the war, the US Department of the Treasury said in a statement earlier this week.

Yellen will also discuss resilience of the US and global economy in the face of headwinds including Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine and highlight key priorities for the Treasury during the G20.

That includes work to galvanise greater support and ambition in meeting global emissions reductions, building urgency and a broad coalition behind the need to evolve multilateral development banks, and underscoring the importance of delivering on the Common Framework to provide debt relief, the statement added.