US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday offered cheaper capital for energy transition to India. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman simultaneously expressed hope that the bilateral relationship would be further enhanced through new investment opportunities.
“We look forward to working with India on an investment platform to deliver a lower cost of capital and increased private investment to speed India’s energy transition,” Yellen said in a joint statement after bilateral meeting with her Indian counterpart Sitharaman on the sidelines of 3rd G20 Finance Minister-Central Bank Governor meeting being held here under India’s presidency. Further, she said that collaboration between the two countries spans a range of economic issues, including commercial and technological cooperation, strengthening supply chains, and catalysing the clean energy transition.
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Sitharaman said: “I also look forward to furthering our bilateral interests through development cooperation and new investment opportunities through Alternate Investment platforms for renewable energy.”
In the context of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's State visit to the US, Yellen said that her country and India are among the closest partners in the world. “Bilateral trade between our two countries reached an all-time high last year, and we expect it to grow further in the years to come,” she said.
Furthering G20 agenda
According to Sitharaman, the bilateral discussion highlighted the two countries’ commitment to further the G20 agenda. These include addressing critical global issues such as strengthening the Multilateral Development Banks (MDB), taking coordinated climate action, facilitating consensus to intractable issues associated with rising indebtedness of low and middle-income countries, and harnessing opportunities presented by crypto-assets and digital public infrastructure for financial inclusion.
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Yellen appreciated India’s focus on advancing the evolution of MDBs. “We estimate that the MDBs as a system could unlock $200 billion over the next decade just from the measures already being implemented or under deliberation as part of this process,” she said. She also appreciated India’s focus on finalising the historic Two-Pillar global tax deal in the Inclusive Framework, saying, “I believe that we are close to reaching an agreement.”