Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has met IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and discussed the global economic outlook and India’s evolving growth trajectory.
She has also 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 both of them on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) Meeting, in Asheville, on Tuesday.
After the meeting with Georgieva, the Finance Ministry said in a statement, "The discussion also covered the structural shifts underway in India and the importance of appropriately reflecting these developments in macroeconomic assessments and growth projections".
It said, the two leaders discussed the global economic outlook and India’s evolving growth trajectory.
“Excellent exchange of views with India’s Finance Minister @nsitharaman - reflecting on India’s stellar growth performance, the global outlook, and our shared resolve to work ever-more-closely together,” Georgieva said in a post on X.
The IMF Managing Director appreciated India’s strong economic performance and track record, noting the strength built by the Indian economy, the Finance Ministry statement said.
The Finance Minister highlighted India’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals and the importance of robust, evidence-based surveillance frameworks that adequately reflect structural shifts in Emerging Markets Developing Economies (EMDEs).
The discussions also covered the IMF’s capacity development initiatives, including support for strengthening institutional capacity, macroeconomic policymaking and statistical systems in Emerging Markets Developing Economies (EMDEs).
Both leaders emphasised the importance of continued India-IMF engagement in strengthening analytical capabilities, supporting sound macroeconomic policies and contributing to global economic resilience.
According to another statement by the Ministry, 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 USD 1.5 billion.
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 India–World 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 India–World 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.
