Nirmala Sitharaman asks foreign leaders for their ideas on sovereign debt

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman on February 24 sought views from World leaders on dealing with the sovereign debt-related vulnerabilities faced by some nations.

Sithraman also invited ideas on climate transition at the meeting of G-20 in Bengaluru.

While speaking on the occasion, Sitharaman steered the first session along with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das, and highlighted the rising debt vulnerabilities in many countries, and sought views of the G-20 members on multilateral coordination.

Taking to the social media site, the Finance Minister said, ''Managing global debt vulnerabilities would be crucial for the world economy''. 

On February 23, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sought China's proactive role in resolving the debt distress in countries like Zambia and Sri Lanka.

The Finance Minister also invited views of the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors “on policy initiatives that can be instrumental in enabling financing for sustainable development goals (SDGs) and ways for mobilization of timely and adequate resources for climate finance," the ministry stated.

The meeting discussed international financial architecture, sustainable finance, and infrastructure.

Apart from these, Sitharaman also sought the views of the ministers and governors on how multilateral development banks can be strengthened to address shared global challenges of the 21st century while maintaining a focus on SDGs and poverty eradication. 

Issues related to financing inclusive, resilient, and sustainable cities of tomorrow were discussed at the meeting.

On the sidelines of the program, Sitharaman also held separate meetings with visiting dignitaries such as Bruno Le Maire, France’s minister of economy, finance, and industrial and digital sovereignty, on the sidelines. 

The two leaders agreed to extend economic cooperation to new areas like clean energy, infrastructure, and green cities, the ministry said.

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