India: FM Nirmala Sitharaman says G20 presidency received robust support on all priorities

Nirmala Sitharaman – the Union Finance Minister of India, on Saturday, February 25, 2023, stated that India’s G20 presidency had received robust support from all members on all major priorities. She added that she is grateful for the USA and UK, who have always supported the global coordination framework, especially the crypto.

The statement by the Indian Union Finance Minister came while she was extending gratitude towards the US Secretary Janet Yellen for putting her support on the last day of the 1st Finance Minister and Central Bank Governors meeting.

She added that Saudi Arabia came to help with the resolution on fuel security as China and Saudi Arabia came forward on climate finance mobilization, and Japan and the United Kingdom supported all the priorities of the G20 presidency of India.

The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Shaktikanta Das, was also present during the occasion. While highlighting the success of the Unified Payments Interface, RBI Governor stated that the UPI had lured a lot of attention.

Notably, during the considerations, some of the finance ministers and the governors of the central bank mentioned it as a success story which could guide the coming future of interoperable payment systems between nations and for the cross-border transfer of money.

The government of India has also pressed for expeditious resolution of the debt challenges currently faced by low as well as middle-income nations such as Ghana, Zambia, Sri Lanka and Ethiopia.

The 1st Finance Ministers & Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting held under the G20 presidency of India agreed to boost multilateral coordination by official bilateral as well as private creditors in order to address the deteriorating debt situation and ease coordinated debt treatment for debt-distressed nations.

Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the Indian government is looking at a more efficient and quick resolution and the fact that nations need to wait for several years; for example, Zambia had waited for over a year and a half, and there have been nations which went back on the request as they waited for two years. Sri Lanka is also waiting for a resolution, but due to delays, they are feeling the stress even more.