On Friday, Ms Sitharaman met with Mr Malpass at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC. In a series of tweets, the Finance Ministry stated, “Both sides addressed different topics including #COVID #vaccine, #economicrecovery, preparations for #CoP26, initiative of #WBG for extending loan space for India, IDA 20 replenishment, knowledge cooperation with @WorldBank.”
During the meeting, according to the ministry, Ms Sitharaman discussed India’s efforts to control the spread of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly the country’s leadership position in the global COVID-19 campaign. She praised the World Bank Group for its initiative to expand lending space for India to increase development financing availability.
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In the quest for low-carbon growth, the minister also stated that the focus should be on innovations that need to be taken from the lab to the field and those that require targeted worldwide study. She “highlighted three broad proposals,” according to the report, “including boosting #LighthouseIndia, #technology, and a specific focus on #FinancialSectorReforms and #infrastructure sector to improve the knowledge collaboration with #WBG.”
Earlier, she told the World Bank’s Development Committee that India has not only confronted the COVID-19 crisis with remarkable strength and fortitude but has also played a key role in the global fight against the epidemic and “walked the talk.” She emphasised that the government’s actions have laid a solid basis for the country’s long-term economic prosperity.
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In addition to implementing economic relief measures, she said that the Indian government had implemented substantial structural reforms to convert the crisis into an opportunity and emerge stronger. The minister also spoke about the preparations for the upcoming Glasgow Climate Change Conference. She will travel back to Delhi from Washington after an interactive session with the business community in New York. Her week-long journey began in Boston. Ms Sitharaman held around 25 bilateral engagements in addition to her discussions with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
