US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to visit India from Feb 23-25 for G20 Meetings

Washington : US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will be visiting India on February 23-25 to participate in the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Ministerial.

A Feb. 17, 2023, press release from the U.S. Treasury Department said, “On February 23 in the afternoon, Secretary Yellen will hold a press conference. There, the Secretary will discuss the resilience of the US and the global economy in the face of headwinds including Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and highlight key priorities for Treasury during the G20.”

This will be the first finance ministers’ meeting since India officially became chair of the Group of 20 leading economies in December 2022. The Indian government has put climate issues at the top of the group’s priorities.

At the UN climate conference, last November, India — currently the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases — proposed a phaseout of all fossil fuels and repeatedly emphasized the need to revamp global climate finance.

Yellen will participate in Sessions I and II of the G20 Finance Ministers meeting on “International Financial Architecture, Sustainable Finance and Infrastructure,” as well as on “Financial Sector and Financial Inclusion,” on February 24.

She will also convene a round table with US and Indian executives in the tech sector to discuss deepening US-Indian economic ties as well as advancing shared goals like bolstering digital public infrastructure on February 25.

Secretary Yellen will participate in the third G20 session on “Global Economics, Health and International Tax” on February 25.

The G-20, made up of the world’s largest economies, has a rolling presidency with a different member state in charge of the group’s agenda and priorities each year.

Notably, Yellen will address the global economic impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as her visit coincides with the one-year anniversary of the invasion.

“In these engagements, Secretary Yellen will join with allies in holding Russia accountable for its illegal invasion of Ukraine, and partner with countries to mitigate the spillover effects of the war. Secretary Yellen will also engage with partners to address challenges and build a stronger, more resilient, global economy,” added the release.

Yellen last visited India in November 2022 for the first time when she said, “India is one of our trusted trading partners. In a world where supply chain vulnerabilities can
impose heavy costs, we believe it’s important to strengthen our trade ties with India and the large number of countries that share our approach to economic relations. This includes both developing and advanced economies.”