During her opening remarks at the India-US Economic Financial Partnership in New Delhi, Yellen said India's membership in the Indo-Pacific economic framework is an effort to make supply chains more resilient through the tightening of ties.
Yellen and Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman are leading the 9th meeting of the India-US EFP, where the two sides are holding discussions on issues of mutual interest including climate finance, multilateral issues, taxation, supply chain resilience, India-US Cooperation at G20 under India’s presidency, global economy, and macroeconomic outlook.
Sitharaman said the meeting on Friday will lend greater vigour to economic relationships, strengthen business-to-business links, and facilitate a coordinated policy stance to address the pressing global economic challenges.
"This forum cannot only ensure our economic stability but can be instrumental in providing economic stability across the Indo Pacific region... Looking ahead, we are also eager to discuss our shared priorities as India assumes the presidency of G20 in the coming weeks," said Yellen, during her first trip to India as US treasury secretary.
She pointed out that the current global economic challenges led by Russia's "brutal invasion of Ukraine", while the world was still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, would help strengthen India and US partnership. The global events have led to a shock in food and energy prices and greatly exacerbated inflationary pressures.
"Challenges like these help strengthen the partnership that exists between the US and India...We also hope that the mutual understanding that we have built will help us work together to advance our shared goals, including mitigating the existential risks of climate change, reforming multilateral institutions, and expressing the debt burden faced by many developing countries," said Yellen.
Sitharaman pointed out that India will continue to rely on close cooperation with the United States to address the global economic challenges in a more coordinated manner and in strengthening multilateralism.
She added that the Quad and Indo-Pacific Economic Framework have further expanded bilateral cooperation. "They serve us as an important fora for a stronger collaboration in developing sustainable economies, ensuring global health security, resilient supply chains, clean energy technologies, green infrastructure and climate finance."
