Role played by India during G-20 presidency appreciated at IMF and WB meeting: Seth

Washington: During the annual Spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank there was a widespread appreciation of the role played by India during its G-20 presidency in building consensus on a range of key global issues, a top Indian official has said.

India hosted the G20 Summit in New Delhi from September 9-10. The summit adopted a 37-page consensus declaration overcoming major differences in the Russia-Ukraine war and took several steps to ensure the stability of the global economy.

“There is a widespread appreciation of Indian presidency of the G-20 in building consensus on several issues, relevant for global deployment, conducted of various meetings during the presidency as well as the leaders’ summit,” Ajay Seth, Economic Affairs Secretary told PTI on Friday on the sidelines of the annual sprint meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Due to the ongoing Lok Sabha election, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is not attending the annual IMF and World Bank meetings.

Instead, the Indian delegation this time is being represented by senior government officials, including RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, and the Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth.

There is the recognition that India provides practical examples of following successful development paths.

“There was also an appreciation that the very effective conduct of monetary policies and responsive and responsible fiscal policies is leading to maintaining its financial stability in emerging economies, including India amid global conditions,” Seth said.

“There are a few ideas given on sustainable finance about how the financing for climate action should be happening,” he said in response to a question.

On the sidelines of the Spring Meetings, the second meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors under the Brazilian Presidency was held on April 17-18.

The two sessions discussed the topics of reimagining finance for a just transition and climate goals and international financial architecture for the 21st century.

During the first session, the RBI Governor shared India’s experience such as the issuance of sovereign green bonds for about USD4 billion and the introduction of a framework for regulated entities to accept green deposits.

On the sidelines of the Spring Meetings, the Economic Affairs Secretary also had bilateral meetings with counterparts from the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Brazil, and South Africa as well as the Chair of Financial Stability.

Speaking in the session on reforming the international financial architecture, the RBI Governor underscored the need for sound macroeconomic fundamentals for managing volatility in capital flows.

He emphasised the need for central banks to remain focused on ensuring price and financial stability.

Seth appreciated the Brazilian Presidency for developing the 2024 MDB agenda based on the 2-volume report of the G20 Independent Expert Group on Strengthening MDBs that was prepared under the Indian Presidency of the G20.

He also emphasised the need for MDBs to work together as a system as well as explore options to enhance the use of risk mitigation instruments.