Finance Minister Sitharaman met World Bank President Ajay Banga, discussed MDB reforms

New Delhi| Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met World Bank President Ajay Banga in Washington, USA. During this, other issues including reforms in multilateral development banks were discussed. Sitharaman and Banga discussed issues related to global public goods, energy security and private capital participation in multilateral development banks (MDBs) reforms during the annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF.

The Finance Minister said that she looked forward with interest to the progress associated with the IEG recommendations on MDB reforms that came during India’s G-20 presidency on behalf of the World Bank and also requested regular monitoring of the implementation of the recommendations in the future.

The Independent Expert Group (IEG), appointed under the auspices of the 2023 Indian G-20 Presidency, recommended a triple agenda of reforms in MDBs. This agenda has three elements – ending extreme poverty, promoting shared prosperity, and contributing to tripling sustainable debt levels for global public goods by 2030; and creating a third financing mechanism that will allow flexible and innovative arrangements to engage purposefully with investors seeking to support elements of the MDB agenda.

Sitharaman also stressed the need for a wide-ranging consultative process on advisory mechanisms jointly organized by the World Bank and IMF to discuss the 80 years of the Bretton Woods institutions. The Bretton Woods institutions are the IMF and the World Bank Group, founded in 1944 at a conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. Banga noted the substantial progress on the IEG recommendations, which are to be presented to the G-20.

She stressed on focusing on employment, knowledge infrastructure and bankable projects of the WBG and collaborating with India’s budget priorities including skills, water and sanitation and urban development.