In presence of FM, Standard Chartered Bank and Bank of Baroda signed an MoU on Commonwealth Small States Trade Finance Facility to make available up to US $100 million of incremental trade finance over a period of three years; India also pledged £1,022,100 to Commonwealth Fund for technical cooperation.

The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley chaired the Commonwealth Finance Ministers’ Meeting held at IMF Headquarters in Washington D.C. yesterday. During the meeting, two important issues- the ‘Economics of Climate Change and Financing Climate Adaptation and Mitigation’; and ‘International Taxation-a Commonwealth Conversation around the Panama Papers’ were discussed and deliberated. In the presence of the Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley, the Standard Chartered Bank and Bank of Baroda signed an MoU on Commonwealth Small States Trade Finance Facility. This finance facility is expected to make available up to US $100 million of incremental trade finance over a period of three years. During the meeting, as part of the voluntary contributions, India also pledged £1,022,100 to Commonwealth Fund for technical cooperation.

The Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley also chaired the Governing Council Meeting of the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA). While addressing the gathering, the FM announced that the CRA is now operational and BRICS member central banks are fully ready to carry out the transactions. Members welcomed the proposal to formalize the setting up of a network of central banks research units that will support the working of BRICS CRA. At the meeting, the Finance Minister also extended invitation to attend BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting to be held in Goa later this month.

The Finance Minister attended the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Working Dinner where discussions centered around the global outlook, key risks for the global and national economies and the proposals made by the Global Forum and the Financial Action Task Force to improve implementation of the beneficial ownership standard.

During the course of the day, the Finance Minister Shri Jaitley also held a number of bilateral meetings with British Secretary of State, US Treasury Secretary, Finance Minister of Bhutan, Finance Minister of Bangladesh, and CEO of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). The bilateral trade and investment ties were the focal point of each of these meetings for ensuring greater economic cooperation.

On the side-lines of the Fund Bank meetings, Mr. Shaktikanta Das, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) also participated in a panel discussion organized by Morgan Stanley, to deliberate upon the ‘Cyclical and Structural Progress in the Emerging Market Economies’, wherein Shri Das spoke about the fiscal consolidation and economic reform path being undertaken in India.

The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley is currently on an official tour to Washington D.C. to attend the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and other associated meetings. He is accompanied by Dr.Urijit Patel, Governor, RBI, Mr. Shaktikanta Das, Secretary,Economic Affairs, Dr. Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Advisor and other officials.

Contingent Reserve Arrangement operational, enabling member central banks to execute transactions and support a central bank research network. The Finance Minister chaired meetings at IMF headquarters addressing climate finance and international taxation; Standard Chartered and Bank of Baroda signed an MoU to establish a Commonwealth Small States Trade Finance Facility and India pledged voluntary funds for technical cooperation. At the BRICS Governing Council the Contingent Reserve Arrangement was declared operational, members endorsed creating a network of central bank research units to support CRA transactions, and the Minister engaged in G 20 discussions and bilateral talks on trade and investment cooperation.