Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has met US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and invited him to New Delhi later this year for the India-US Economic and Financial Partnership meeting, as the two countries look to deepen cooperation across key economic and strategic sectors. Sitharaman met Bessent on Monday on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Asheville, North Carolina. The two ministers acknowledged the longstanding economic relationship between India and the United States and discussed opportunities to strengthen bilateral engagement, particularly in critical minerals. “The Union Finance Minister invited Mr Bessent for the Economic & Financial Partnership to New Delhi later this year,” the Finance Ministry said.
Critical minerals in focus
Bessent appreciated India’s role in the “G7 plus” framework and its participation in G7-led critical mineral dialogues aimed at securing supply chains and promoting the sharing of research and technology.
Critical minerals have assumed growing strategic importance as major economies seek to secure supplies needed for clean energy, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors and other emerging technologies. Sitharaman and Bessent committed to further deepening India-US cooperation in this area as part of their broader economic relationship.
The India-US Economic and Financial Partnership was launched in 2010 as a ministerial-level mechanism to strengthen macroeconomic, financial and regulatory cooperation between the two countries. Nine ministerial-level meetings have been held so far.
G20 talks on global economy
Sitharaman is leading the Indian delegation at the two-day G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting being hosted by the United States in Asheville on August 31 and September 1.
The discussions are focused on global economic growth and stability, financial cooperation, sovereign debt, economic imbalances and other challenges confronting advanced and emerging economies. India has backed the US G20 presidency’s emphasis on stronger global growth while stressing the need to address economic imbalances.
Sitharaman is on an official visit to Canada and the United States from August 25 to September 2, aimed at strengthening economic and financial partnerships, expanding investment ties and advancing cooperation on global economic priorities.