Calling India one of the United State's "closest partners," U.S. Treasury secretary Janet Yellen said in remarks issued this week that the two countries are partnering on, among other things, a common position on multilateral development bank (MDB) reform.
Yellen issued her remarks while she was in India as part of that nation's hosting of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting on Monday.
"It is vital that we use meetings like this to strengthen our coalition of shareholders that are working together to press for more ambition and specific reforms with respect to the MDBs' vision, incentive structures, operational approaches, and financial capacity to better address global challenges," Yellen said in her statement. "We estimate that the MDBs as a system could unlock $200 billion over the next decade just from the measures already being implemented or under deliberation as part of this process."
It was Yellen's third trip to India as Treasury Secretary and she told India Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman that she "valued the opportunity to meet with you on all these occasions."
During the meeting, Yellen engaged in a tête-à-tête with Sitharaman. Their discussion focused on various economic issues, including macroeconomic and financial developments, economic security, and supply chain challenges, according to Yellen's remarks.
Yellen expressed her appreciation for India's leadership on debt issues and commended the country's support for G20 efforts aimed at enhancing the MDB restructuring process. She also lauded India's commitment to advancing the evolution of MDBs, which play a critical role in fostering global economic stability.
Yellen also said she welcomed the improving ties between South Korea and Japan, recognizing the positive implications this has for the strong trilateral relationship between those nations. These developments signify growing cooperation among nations to tackle shared economic and security concerns.
"Our collaboration spans a range of economic issues, including commercial and technological collaboration, strengthening supply chains, and catalyzing the clean energy transition," Secretary Yellen 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."