Sitharaman meets World Bank chief Ajay Banga, discuss deepening cooperation

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has met World Bank President Ajay Banga and discussed further strengthening the partnership between India and the international finance institution to deepen corporate, infrastructure and municipal bond markets.

Sitharaman met Banga on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) Meeting, in Asheville, on Tuesday.

The Union Finance Minister appreciated the World Bank Group's continued engagement with India and acknowledged the speedy processing of the Development Policy Financing (DPF) of $1.5 billion," a Finance Ministry statement said.

It said Sitharaman appreciated the International Finance Corporation's (IFC) support to MSMEs through SIDBI, which was processed in record time and has had a positive impact on the MSME sector.

"The two leaders discussed further strengthening the IndiaWorld Bank Group partnership, including exploring a larger role for MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency) in India to deepen corporate, infrastructure and municipal bond markets through systematic use of guarantees and greater mobilisation of private capital," the Finance Ministry said.

It said the discussions also covered a sector-based, programmatic approach to credit enhancement for infrastructure.

Banga appreciated the significant transformation in India's infrastructure and noted the opportunities to further leverage the World Bank Group's instruments to support India's development ambitions, including through MIGA's engagement and political risk insurance for Indian companies investing overseas, the statement said.

Sitharaman also highlighted India's engagement with the World Bank Group on establishing a Global Digital Public Infrastructure Knowledge Hub in India, including exploring opportunities to leverage technology in areas such as agriculture, and looked forward to early progress towards its launch.

The Union Finance Minister also discussed developing globally competitive tourism destinations under the new IndiaWorld Bank Group Country Partnership Framework, through a coordinated approach combining International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) policy and infrastructure support, IFC investment and MIGA guarantees, it said.

The two leaders further discussed evolving the partnership from a traditional lender-borrower relationship towards a strategic platform for global knowledge, innovation and private capital mobilisation, combining India's scale and implementation capacity with the World Bank Group's global expertise and financing instruments, the Finance Ministry statement said.

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