Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced she will travel to India next month to attend the ninth annual US-India Economic and Financial Partnership meeting, as she vows to strengthen ties between the two nations to tackle the world’s most pressing economic challenges. Yellen’s announcement came as she met her Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman here. “I am pleased to announce today that I will be making my first trip to India as Treasury Secretary in November prior to the G20 meetings to attend the US-India Economic and Financial Partnership, our ninth partnership meeting,” Yellen told reporters on Tuesday.
She said the US-India relationship is critical to solving the world’s most pressing economic challenges. This partnership, she said, is not only vital to their core economic interests, but also shows their citizens and the world that democracy delivers. “It illustrates the close ties between our two countries, from the Quad partnership to our strong bilateral economic ties and cultural ties from the Indian diaspora in the US,” she said.
Sitharaman is on a five-day official visit to Washington DC to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, on the sidelines of which he is holding a series of bilateral meetings. “The United States and India are extremely important to the global economy, and we must continue to work together on the economic development and cooperation that has made our partnership so strong,” Yellen said.
Noting that both India and the US are also facing common headwinds stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s unjust war against Ukraine, Yellen said these global upheavals have increased energy and food prices in both our countries and underscored the importance of both our countries’ efforts to to make economies more resilient. Yellen hinted at topics and issues to discuss with Sitharaman, saying she looked forward to discussing their efforts to strengthen supply chains and invest in clean energy sources in addition to steps America is taking to keep global oil markets well-supplied near term.
“This is particularly important given how high energy costs have affected consumers in both our countries – and in emerging markets globally,” she said. “India’s assumption of the G20 presidency in December is also an opportunity for more coordinated global cooperation. I look forward to discussing India’s priorities for their hosting year and how the US can best support you as you take on this important role,” Yellen said.
The United States, she said, is also pleased that India is joining the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Through the Framework, the United States and its partners will deepen economic ties, strengthen supply chains to avoid costly disruptions, and help develop key standards and rules for technological innovation in the coming years and decades, she said.
On May 23, 2022, the US and other Indo-Pacific partner countries jointly launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity. Through IPEF, the partners strive to contribute to cooperation, stability, prosperity, development and peace in the region. The establishment of the IPEF came as part of Washington’s efforts to push for a strong economic policy for the Indo-Pacific to counter China’s aggressive trade strategy in the region.
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