Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has assured that assistance will continue to be provided to global South countries. These countries are regarded as having a relatively low level of economic and industrial development and are typically located to the south of more\u00a0industrialised\u00a0nations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have extended \u2018Line of Credit\u2019 at highly discounted rates to many African countries for building their institutions, bridges, railway stations, ports and secretariats. We will continue to do it because we think the Global South is with us, we want to be with them and help them,\u201d Sitharaman said during the discussion on the \u2018Bretton Woods Institutions at 80: Priorities for the Next Decade\u2019, organised by the Center for Global Development on the sidelines of the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings in Washington DC.<\/p>\n
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- \nRead: FM Sitharaman signals no easing of investment curbs on China<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
She was responding to a remark by Larry Summers, President Emeritus, and Charles W. Eliot, University Professor, Harvard University when he said that India has a very high foreign reserve and should be used in investing in various instruments in developed nations. Sitharaman said that money from $700 billion-plus foreign reserves is already being used in different manners. \u201cMuch before the IMF reaches some countries in the neighbourhood in times of distress, India has given sums of money, with no conditions attached,\u201d she said, apart from providing help to other countries.<\/p>\n
On the issue of ownership of multilateral agencies, she said that it doesn\u2019t only come with a quantum of money being given. \u201cIt can also come when decisions are made in consultations when decisions can be transparent, when decisions are made to benefit the recipient and not so uni-focused on the donor. India is willing to take that ownership,\u201d she emphasised.<\/p>\n
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- \nRead: IMF retains India\u2019s GDP at 7%, FM sees 2% rise in India\u2019s contribution to global growth<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Talking about reforms of multilateral development institutions, she reminded what the Prime Minister\u00a0has been saying since 2015 about how these agencies should look at reforming and readying themselves for the demands of the 21st century. \u201cWe see how critical those words were during the Covid-19 pandemic, she said. Also, she mentioned that the G20 Presidency was an opportunity for India on two grounds – reforming the MDBs and raising the voice of the Global South.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Bretton Woods institutions should not allow themselves to have a \u2018Mission Drift\u2019 and should address it. IMF resources will have to be available for all countries. We need to have a roadmap for concrete reform-based steps that have to be initiated. We started it during our G20 Presidency after a lot of thinking and introspection. A shift in thinking of Bretton Woods institutions to meet the needs of the next decade is absolutely necessary,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The Minister mentioned that the Prime Minister once said India\u2019s priority is not to impose its dominance. India has followed a policy of strategic and peaceful multilateralism. India has always stood in favour of multilateral institutions. \u201cMultilateral institutions should focus on their core competencies and strengthen themselves for the global good. Shaping the future is one very ambitious goal which we need to follow and we need to have Bretton Woods institutions work on that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
- \nRead: IMF retains India\u2019s GDP at 7%, FM sees 2% rise in India\u2019s contribution to global growth<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n