The global economic growth outlook remains uncertain with downside risks, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday.
“Since we last met in April, the global economy is below its long-run average, and remains uneven,” Sitharaman said in her opening address at the G-20 meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG). Sitharaman is chairing the meet along with Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das.
“The uncertainty around the outlook remains high, and downside risks still persist, including those related to geo-economic fragmentation. What we need are coordinated international efforts to navigate this challenging period,” she said.
As per the International Monetary Fund, baseline global growth is expected to fall from 3.4per centin 2022 to 2.8per centin 2023, before settling at 3per centin 2024. Advanced economies are expected to see an especially pronounced growth slowdown, from 2.7per centin 2022 to 1.3per centin 2023.
Sitharaman informed the heads of central banks, treasuries and global development finance institutions that the G-20 has prepared three significant deliverables under India’s Presidency. These include a framework on economic risks and vulnerabilities, a report on best practices for financial health and institutional arrangements, and a report on mapping pandemics, response options and gaps.
Read | Coordinated international efforts needed to deal with food & energy insecurity, climate change: Sitharaman
Before the opening session, Sitharaman had a bilateral meeting with her American counterpart, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, where she said both the nations shared democratic values, pluralism, and a strong commitment to rules-based global order and multilateralism.
Sitharaman said that the discussions between the two included issues such as strengthening the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) such as the World Bank and IMF, taking coordinated climate action, addressing rising indebtedness of low and middle-income countries, and harnessing opportunities presented by crypto-assets and digital public infrastructure for financial inclusion.
“It is vital that we use meetings like this to strengthen our coalition of shareholders that are working together to press for more ambition and specific reforms with respect to the MDBs’ vision, incentive structures, operational approaches, and financial capacity to better address global challenges,” said Yellen on their bilateral meeting.
“The United States is home to the largest Indian diaspora outside of Asia, and it serves as India’s largest export market. Bilateral trade between our two countries reached an all-time high last year, and we expect it to grow further in the years to come,” she said.