Tag: Janet Yellen

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Sitharaman, Yellen Discuss IMF’s Policy Priorities

The two met on the sidelines of the ongoing IMF-World Bank Annual meetings in Marrakech, Morocco…reports Asian Lite News

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held discussions with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on the policy priorities of the International Monetary Fund and how the institution should support its membership.

The two met on the sidelines of the ongoing IMF-World Bank Annual meetings in Marrakech, Morocco, the Union Ministry of Finance informed.

In her intervention, Sitharaman spoke about IMF’s mandate and lending policies, a strong, quota-based, and adequately resourced IMF, Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) Financing and IMF Governance reforms.

In her address, she also highlighted the role of IMF in addressing debt restructuring process bottlenecks and fostering cooperation on debt issues, including through co-chairing the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR) with India and the World Bank, according to the Finance Ministry.

The roundtable discussion was hosted by US Treasury Secretary Yellen.

A high-level seminar on “Strengthening the Financial Capacity of MDBs” was also organised by the G20 India Presidency.

Sitharaman drew attention to India’s G20 Presidency’s focus on the importance of multilateralism to move towards coordinated and consensus-based solutions to global challenges and also highlighted that in line with the evolving needs of the membership, the IMF’s primary focus needs to be macroeconomic surveillance and policy guidance.

The participants during the seminar deliberated on various options to enhance multi-lateral development banks (MDBs) financing and how these options can be implemented most effectively across the MDBs.

The Union Finance Minister also underscored the importance of the IMF to remain well-capitalised through quota-based resources to remain central to the global financial safety net.

Expressing India’s support for the gender and governance reforms in the IMF Executive Board, the FM mentioned that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s direction, India has recently enacted the Nari Shakti Vandan (Women’s Reservation Law), which reserves 33 per cent seats in the Parliament and State Legislatures for women, posted the Ministry of Finance on X.

The Union Finance Minister also met Ilan Goldfajn, President of Inter-American Development Bank and the two exchanged views on current development challenges and opportunities.

Union Finance Minister also met Mze Abdou Mohamed Chanfiou, Minister of Finance, Budget and Banking Sector, Comoros, and exchanged views on issues like Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), development partnership and other areas of mutual cooperation.

Referring to the initiative ‘Voice of Global South’ as envisioned by PM Modi, she said that India is looking forward to the participation of the President of Comoros in the ‘Voice of Global South’ Summit on November 17 as well as the G20 Virtual Summit on November 22 in Comoros’s capacity as Chair of the African Union.

The FM also expressed India’s readiness to share its technical capabilities and knowledge resources for empowering the people of the “Global South” and also stated that the Technical Cooperation Agreement (TCA) on India-Africa Economic Cooperation between the Government of India and the African Development Bank is currently in its final stages.

She also met Ajay Banga, president of World Bank. They discussed several issues related to India’s development priorities and global challenges – in the context of a bigger, better and more effective World Bank, as per the Ministry of Finance.

Highlighting the ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid’ initiative articulated by PM Modi, Sitharaman encouraged the World Bank’s active involvement in taking it forward, according to the Ministry of Finance.

The FM emphasised that India has delivered on its commitments towards Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and this rich experience can be used by the World Bank in its engagement with other countries.

Citing India’s rich and varied development experience, she said India can become a strong partner for Sandboxing the eight global challenge programmes proposed to be taken up by the World Bank.

Welcoming Morocco’s participation through the African Union in the G20, Sitharaman said India has always supported Africa and is privileged to have had the historic opportunity to propose permanent membership of the African Union and also that this will make G20 much more inclusive.

The fourth G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (G20FMCBG) and fourth G20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies (G20FCBD) meetings are being held here in Morocco from October 11 to 13 and Sitharaman and Governor of Reserve Bank of India, Shaktikanta Das are co-chairing these meetings, the Ministry of Finance said. (ANI)

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Yellen appeals to China on climate, global challenges

In a meeting with her Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, US Treasury Secretary Yellen defended U.S. restrictions on technology exports that rankle Beijing.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen appealed to China on Saturday for cooperation on climate change and other global challenges and not to let disagreements about trade and other irritants derail relations.

In a meeting with her Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, Yellen defended U.S. restrictions on technology exports that rankle Beijing. She said the two governments shouldn’t let such disagreements disrupt thriving economic and financial relations.

″We also face important global challenges, such as debt distress in emerging markets and developing countries and climate change,” Yellen said. “We have a duty to both our own economies and to other countries to cooperate.”

Yellen is one of a series of U.S. officials who are due to visit Beijing as part of efforts to revive relations that are at their lowest level in decades due to disputes over technology, security, and Taiwan among other issues.

Yellen has received a warm welcome from leaders including Premier Li Qiang, the No. 2 figure in the ruling Communist Party, though they gave no sign they will change policies that irk Washington and other governments.

Treasury officials said the goal of the trip was to encourage communication and no agreements on big disputes were expected. They said Yellen wasn’t scheduled to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Secretary Yellen meets with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

Beijing broke off climate discussions with Washington last August in retaliation for a visit by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the House of Representatives to Taiwan, the self-ruled island democracy claimed by China as part of its territory.

President Joe Biden’s climate envoy, John Kerry, is due to become the next senior U.S. official to visit China next week. China and the United States are the world’s top emitters of climate-changing carbon.

He, who is Xi’s top economic adviser and the chief Chinese envoy to the United States on trade and financial issues, said the two governments should return to an agreement reached last November by Biden and Xi to improve relations.

″The two countries should act with a sense of responsibility for history, for the people and for the world,” the vice premier said.

He added that the United States should ”adopt a rational and pragmatic attitude and work with China to stay committed to the common understandings” by Xi and Biden.

China, which has lent billions of dollars to governments in Asia and Africa under Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative to build ports and other infrastructure, signed on an agreement last month to reduce the debts of Zambia in southern Africa. Treasury officials earlier pointed to that as an area where cooperation produced results.

Also Saturday, Yellen met with the incoming governor of China’s central bank, Pan Gongsheng, and people who work in China’s climate-related finance industry.

Meeting with He, Yellen repeated her appeal for “healthy economic cooperation,” a reference to complaints that Beijing violates its free-trade commitments by subsidizing and shielding its companies from competition.

Yellen defended U.S. curbs on technology exports, repeating a theme she touched on in a meeting Friday with Li, the premier.

U.S. limits on Chinese access to processor chips and other technology threaten to delay or derail the ruling party’s efforts to develop telecoms, artificial intelligence and other fields. Xi accused Washington in March of trying to hamper China’s development.

Beijing has been slow to retaliate, possibly to avoid disrupting its own industries. But this week, the government announced unspecified controls on exports of gallium and germanium, metals used in making semiconductors and solar panels.

“The United States will take targeted actions to protect our national security,” Yellen said. “While we may disagree on these actions, we should not allow that disagreement to lead to misunderstandings, particularly those stemming from a lack of communication, which can unnecessarily worsen our bilateral economic and financial relationship.”

ALSO READ: US concerned over China’s new export controls

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Yellen warns of possible US debt default by June 1

Yellen made the assessment after obtaining additional information on the latest data…reports Asian Lite News

In a letter to Congressional leaders, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reiterated that the country could default on its debt obligations as early as June 1.

The Department of Treasury will likely no longer be able to satisfy all of the governments’ obligations if Congress has not acted to raise or suspend the debt limit by early June, and potentially as early as June 1, Yellen said in the letter sent on Monday.

She made the assessment after obtaining additional information on the latest data, and federal receipts, outlays, following her earlier letter of this kind on May 1, reports Xinhua news agency.

“Waiting until the last minute to suspend or increase the debt limit can cause serious harm to business and consumer confidence, raise short-term borrowing costs for taxpayers, and negatively impact the credit rating of the US,” warned Yellen.

“In fact, we have already seen Treasury’s borrowing costs increase substantially for securities maturing in early June,” she added.

If Congress fails to increase the debt limit, it would cause severe hardship to American families, harm US global leadership position, and raise questions about U.S. ability to defend its national security interests, according to the Treasury Secretary.

The second meeting between President Joe Biden and congressional leaders on budget and debt ceiling will now take place on Tuesday.

Biden and congressional leaders discussed the budget issue for the 2024 fiscal year last Tuesday but failed to generate meaningful breakthroughs.

Though Biden has expressed optimism on prospects of the second meeting, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Monday that there’s been “no progress” on debt ceiling talks ahead of the meeting.

In January, the US hit its $31.4 trillion debt limit, set in December 2021, prompting the Treasury Department to use accounting maneuvers known as “extraordinary measures” to keep the government paying its bills, such as curbing certain government investments.

ALSO READ: Biden warns of catastrophe if US defaults

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Yellen meets Indian IT bosses in Bengaluru

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen holds a meeting with the Chief of Indian IT Companies, in Bengaluru on Saturday. Wipro chairman Rishad Premji, Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani, IBM India managing director Sandip Patel and others also present. (ANI Photo)

Janet Yellen said the US was advancing an approach called “friend-shoring” to bolster the resilience of its supply chains, reports Asian Lite News

US Treasury Secretary Janet L Yellen on Saturday held a meeting with the chief of various IT companies like Infosys Technologies Limited Nandan Nilekani, Wipro’s head Nishad Premji and others in Bengaluru.

Yellen, who arrived in India for the G20 Finance Ministers meet, had addressed the roundtable with US and Indian tech business leaders on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in southern Bengaluru city on Saturday. Yellen, in the roundtable meeting, said that under the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and investment (PGII), the US announced investments in agri-tech to enable climate-smart agricultural production, and in digital payments systems for microentrepreneurs.

Yellen said going forward, “I am eager to deepen our ties in the technology sector.” She said the US was advancing an approach called “friend-shoring” to bolster the resilience of its supply chains.

The treasury secretary said, “We are doing this by strengthening integration with our many trusted trading partners — including India. We are seeing progress; as an example; technology companies like Apple and Google have expanded their phone production in India.”

Yellen said through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), the US is investing in digital technologies that will drive inclusive and resilient growth in India.

She said these stand alongside investments in renewable energy, health and other infrastructure sectors in India. Overall, the United States aims to mobilise USD 200 billion through 2027 for PGII, and we look forward to partnering with India to continue investing in its future, the US treasury secretary said in a statement released on Saturday morning.

Yellen said one of the most rewarding parts of my job is meeting with innovators, entrepreneurs and business leaders across the globe and this is especially true in India, which has one of the most dynamic economies in the world.

Yellen said the US is India’s biggest trading partner. She said in 2021, bilateral trade between the two countries was over USD 150 billion.

US Treasury Secretary meets with Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman in Bengaluru on the sidelines of G20 meet.

“Our people-to-people ties affirm the closeness of our relationship. 200,000 Indians are studying in America and enriching our schools and universities,” she said.

Yellen said, “We depend on each other on a daily basis: Indians use WhatsApp to communicate and many American companies rely on Infosys to operate.” (ANI)

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