Joint Statement on the 9th India-U.S. Economic and Financial Partnership

Newdelhi:11/11/22:Indian Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and United States Treasury Secretary Dr. Janet L. Yellen met here today for the 9^th meeting of India-U.S. Economic and Financial Partnership.

Following the conclusion of the dialogue, Finance Minister Smt. Sitharaman and Treasury Secretary Dr. Yellen signed the following joint statement:

We were pleased to lead for a second consecutive year the India-U.S. Economic and Financial Partnership meeting and to welcome Federal Reserve Chair Mr Jerome Powell, Governor Reserve Bank of India Shri Shaktikanta Das, and other participants.

The U.S. Treasury and Ministry of Finance launched our Economic and Financial Partnership in 2010 as a framework to cement the economic bonds between our two nations and build a foundation for greater cooperation and economic growth.  At this ninth meeting of the Economic and Financial Partnership we reaffirmed that our regular dialogue is crucial to the U.S.-India economic relationship and to advancing global efforts to tackle pressing economic challenges.

During the ministerial meeting, we took stock of the extensive efforts that have recently been undertaken by both sides to deepen cooperation in a number of areas and we enhanced our mutual understanding on topics of global consequence.  We had productive discussions on a range of subjects, including the macroeconomic outlook, supply chain resilience, climate finance, multilateral engagement, global debt vulnerabilities, anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism.

In the context of the conflict in Ukraine, we discussed the current headwinds to the global macroeconomic outlook including increased commodity and energy prices as well as supply side disruptions, and we reemphasized our commitment to the central role of multilateral cooperation in addressing these global macroeconomic challenges. Both sides affirmed their commitment to debt sustainability, transparency in bilateral lending, and coordinating closely on extending fair and equal debt treatment to countries facing debt distress.  We reiterated our commitment to step up our efforts to implement the G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatment in a predictable, timely, orderly and coordinated manner.  We acknowledged the importance of working through MDBs to help India access and mobilize available financing to support development objectives, including climate action.  We plan to continue engaging on these and other global economic issues both multilaterally and bilaterally. India and the United States look forward to continued collaboration to meet the most pressing global challenges under India’s G20 Presidency commencing December this year. The United States warmly welcomes India’s upcoming leadership role and stands ready to support India in hosting a successful and productive year.

U.S.-India Financial Regulatory Dialogue, a platform for discussing emerging financial sector issues and priority areas, including banking and insurance sector reforms, capital market development, digital assets and payment system modernization, sustainable finance, and data security and protection frameworks.    Both countries underscore their commitment towards exploring promising avenues of mutual collaboration, including India’s maiden IFSC in GIFT City, Gujarat, during the 11th U.S.-India Financial Regulatory Dialogue to be held in the first half of 2023.

.We continue to strengthen our cooperation in anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) efforts, through increased information sharing and coordination, including expeditious sharing of digital evidence and information for ML/TF investigations, as well as through the U.S.-India AML/CFT bilateral dialogue.  Both sides agree on the importance of fighting financial crimes and on the effective implementation of the Financial Action Task Force standards to protect our financial systems from abuse.  Moving forward, the United States and India will continue to exchange views on best practices and solutions for combating AML/CFT challenges.

This ninth meeting of the Economic and Financial Partnership reflected the growing importance of the U.S.-India relationship and the increasing economic and financial ties between our two economies.  Both sides eagerly anticipate continued dialogue under the Economic and Financial Partnership and the further strengthening of our bilateral relationship.