Ahead of the first G20 Finance Minister and Central Bank Governors meeting in Bengaluru, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday. According to the finance ministry, they discussed their perspectives on strengthening multilateral development banks (MDBs), global debt vulnerabilities, crypto assets, and health, besides the just energy transition partnership (JETP), and possible takeaways for the two sides.
“FM Nirmala Sitharaman meets with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ahead of the first G20 FMCBG meeting, in Bengaluru, today. The two leaders exchanged views on G20 FinanceTrack priorities under G20 India Presidency in 2023,” the ministry tweeted. Adding, “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.”
On Thursday, Sitharaman also met with Italian Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti, and Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki. The second Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting under India’s G20 Presidency is underway in Bengaluru. The two-day meeting began on Wednesday.
The development of cross-border payment arrangements, a symposium on digital public infrastructure, and the road to policy for crypto assets are among the topics up for discussion on Thursday.
The inaugural G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting, which is slated to take place between February 24 and 25, will be held in the same city after the deputies' meeting. Shaktikanta Das, the governor of the RBI, and Sitharaman will co-chair the meeting.
The meeting will take place over three sessions and address topics like leveraging Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for advancing financial inclusion and productivity gains, strengthening multilateral development banks to address common global challenges of the 21st century, and financing for resilient, inclusive, and sustainable "cities of tomorrow," according to an official release.
The sessions will also cover issues related to the global economy, global health, and international taxation, and discussions in the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting are intended to provide a clear mandate for the various workstreams of the G20 Finance Track in 2023.