Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met with IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva on Tuesday to discuss a variety of topics, including the impact of geopolitical tensions on global GDP.
The IMF director praised India’s well-targeted policy mix, which has helped the country’s economy remain resilient despite restricted budgetary space, during a discussion held on the sidelines of the ongoing annual spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
She also expressed gratitude to India for assisting Sri Lanka in resolving its economic problems and promised that the IMF will continue to work with the island nation.
“In discussing recent geopolitical developments, FM Smt. @nsitharaman and Ms @KGeorgieva highlighted worries about their influence on the global economy and the issues associated with rising oil prices as a result,” the finance ministry tweeted. Ms. Sitharaman emphasized the government’s commitment to supporting economic growth through capital expenditure (capex) and stated that the country’s flexible fiscal stance, along with important structural changes and strong monetary policies, had aided the country’s post-pandemic recovery.
India is anticipated to have the highest growth rate among the world’s main economies. According to the Economic Survey, the country’s GDP would expand by 8-8.5 percent this fiscal year.
To maintain the pandemic-hit economy’s public investment-led recovery, the government has increased Capex by 35.4 percent to 7.5 lakh crore for the financial year 2022-23. Last year’s CAPEX was estimated to be around 5.5 lakh crore. Ms. Georgieva praised India for offering help to other vulnerable countries in the fight against the pandemic, praising the country’s successful immunization program in controlling the spread of COVID-19.
Ms. Sitharaman met with Sri Lankan Finance Minister Ali Sabry
On the sidelines of the IMF-WB Spring Meetings, Ms. Sitharaman met with Sri Lankan Finance Minister Ali Sabry to discuss the country’s current economic position and its approach to tackling the country’s current issues.
As a close friend and good neighbor, India will endeavor to extend all feasible cooperation and help, the finance minister promised her Sri Lankan colleague. On the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) conference, Ms. Sitharaman met with Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.
In a subsequent tweet, the finance ministry added, “The two ministers discussed the current global crisis and the #G20 #Indonesian Presidency’s response to it, as well as other #G20FMCBG agenda items such as #GlobalHealth, international financial architecture, and #SustainableFinance.” Both leaders emphasized the need for the G20 to pay close attention to energy price volatility, inflation pressure, and the global economic consequences of geopolitical concerns.