Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has held talks with Financial Stability Board Chair Klass Knot and Vice of the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) Mary Schapiro here and exchanged views on dimensions of risk in crypto eco-system and development of GIFT City, India's first operational smart city.

Sitharaman, who arrived in Washington on Monday, met Knot and Schapiro on the sidelines of IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings 2022, in Washington DC on Tuesday. The Finance Minister held talks with International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva during the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank here on Tuesday.

"Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman and FSB Chair Mr. @KlaasKnot exchanged views on dimensions of risk in crypto eco-system," the Ministry of Finance said in a tweet.

Regulating cryprocurrencies

Sitharaman on Tuesday made a strong case for regulating cryprocurrencies at a global level to mitigate the risk of money laundering and terror funding.

Participating at a high-level panel discussion organised by the IMF, the Finance Minister said that as long as the non-governmental activity of the crypto assets was through unhosted wallets, the regulation was going to be very difficult. However, she said, cross border payments between countries will become very effective through Central Bank-driven digital currencies.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with Financial Stability Board (FSB) Chair KlaasKnot on the sidelines of IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings 2022, at Washington DC

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with Financial Stability Board (FSB) Chair KlaasKnot on the sidelines of IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings 2022, at Washington DC

"Union Finance Minister Smt.@nsitharaman met Ms. Mary Schapiro, Vice of the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) and the first woman to serve as @SECGov Chair, in Washington D.C., today. Ms Shapiro discussed the success in India with respect to building a robust renewable energy markets and concurred that it is opportune time for India to play a leadership role in shaping global #ClimateFinance trends," the ministry said in another tweet.

Vision for GIFT City

"Finance Minister Smt.@nsitharaman spoke about her vision of developing @GIFTCity_#IFSC as centre for attracting global capital for #sustainable #finance and asked CFLI to work closely," it said.

Earlier on Monday, in her first public appearance before the Atlantic Council think-tank, the finance minister told a select group of Washington audience about how the people together with the Indian government successfully faced the challenge posed by Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdowns.

Describing the Indian economy's recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic as 'distinct' and 'pronounced', Sitharaman exuded confidence about India posting robust economic growth this decade.

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