India pledges collaboration with IMF for EMDEs’ resource mobilization
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has committed to working with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help Emerging Market and Developing Economies (EMDEs) grappling with issues such as capital flight and limited access to global financial markets. This was announced during the G20 Leaders summit.
A high-level seminar organized by the G20 India Presidency also discussed enhancing multilateral development bank (MDB) finance in the face of challenges posed by COVID-19. Sitharaman proposed potential reforms and efficient use of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to aid EMDEs without escalating their external debt. She underscored the need to strengthen MDBs’ financial capacity, utilize IMF’s technical assistance, program financing, and work towards global economic stability, shared growth, and improved bilateral trade and investment agreements.
The ripple effects in the global economy due to instability in EMDEs were recognized, highlighting India’s proactive role and the necessity of shared prosperity.
On Wednesday, during the IMF-World Bank Annual meetings in Marrakech, Sitharaman underscored the IMF’s role in debt restructuring and cooperation on debt issues through the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR). She emphasized multilateralism and macroeconomic surveillance as key focus areas under the G20 India Presidency.
During a seminar discussing MDB financing enhancement, she stressed the importance of quota-based resources for the IMF to remain central to the global financial safety net. Sitharaman cited India’s Nari Shakti Vandan (Women’s Reservation Law) in support of IMF’s gender reforms.
She met with Mze Abdou Mohamed Chanfiou, Minister of Finance, Comoros, and Ajay Banga, president of World Bank. The discussions focused on Digital Public Infrastructure, development partnership, global challenges, and the Technical Cooperation Agreement (TCA) on India-Africa Economic Cooperation. Sitharaman highlighted Indian Prime Minister Modi’s ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid’ initiative and India’s commitment to its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
She invited African Union participation via the ‘Voice of Global South’ initiative at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (G20FMCBG) meetings co-chaired by her and Shaktikanta Das, Governor of Reserve Bank of India. Sitharaman also acknowledged Comoros’s capacity as Chair of the African Union.
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