Terming India’s strong economic performance a ‘bright spot’, Georgieva said that beyond being the global growth engine, India is uniquely positioned to bring countries together.
“At a time of heightened uncertainties for the global economy, India’s strong performance remains a bright spot. So, it’s fitting that Group of Twenty finance ministers and central bank governors will gather in Bengaluru this week,” she said.
The Second Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting under India’s G20 Presidency began Wednesday. Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from G20 nations will join the meeting on Friday.
The meeting in the Nandi Hills summer retreat is the first major event of India’s G20 presidency and the war in Ukraine is likely to feature prominently during the proceedings.
Russia’s military operation on neighbour Ukraine dominated headlines for most of 2022, with global growth, already marred by inflationary pressures, taking a hit.
The IMF said that while this will be another challenging year, it could represent a turning point with inflation declining and growth bottoming out. “Indeed, while our latest projections show global growth slowing to 2.9 per cent this year, we anticipate a modest rebound to 3.1 per cent in 2024,” Georgieva said.
The First G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting under the G20 Indian Presidency scheduled later this week is expected to address some of the key global economic issues.
It is expected to cover issues such as strengthening multilateral development banks to address shared global challenges of the 21st century, financing for resilient, inclusive, and sustainable ‘cities of tomorrow,’ and leveraging Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for advancing financial inclusion and productivity gains.
The sessions will also cover issues related to global economy, healthcare, and international taxation.
The discussions in the G20 FMCBG meeting scheduled on February 24 and 25, to be jointly chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das are intended to provide a clear mandate for the various work streams of the G20 Finance Track in 2023.
To further the cause of debt restructuring, the IMF, World Bank, and India’s G20 presidency are convening a new Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable.
“This week in Bengaluru, we will meet in-person for the first time—and pave the way for creditors, both public and private, and debtor countries to work together, assess the existing shortcomings and best ways to tackle them,” she said.