Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and World Bank Group President Mr. David Malpass met in Washington D.C., today, to discuss various issues, including India’s continued recovery from COVID-19 pandemic; impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the world economy and India in particular; economy and role of the WBG; Single Borrower Limit and exploring the possibility of Guarantees from other  nations, India’s G20 Presidency and World Bank's leadership in India after CD’s departure.

The Finance Minister stated that India’s pandemic response has focused on the twin goals of saving lives and livelihoods. India has been successfully running world’s second largest vaccination programme, administering more than 1.85 billion doses of vaccine.

Smt. Sitharaman mentioned that India remains concerned about the risks to global recovery due to rising uncertainty amidst enhanced geopolitical tensions.

The Finance Minister suggested that the multilateralism has become more critical as the world is undergoing a phase of exceptional uncertainty. On account of the pandemic and the recent geo-political developments, there is a need for the World Bank to come to the rescue of countries facing debt stress. In particular, the World Bank needs to pay special attention to Sri Lanka, which is facing an unprecedented economic situation.

Smt. Sitharaman highlighted the India’s roadmap for infrastructure development and look forward to World Bank’s continued support for financing investments for the National Infrastructure pipeline and Gati Shakti programme.

Multilateralism urged to prioritise assistance for debt stressed countries and support infrastructure financing for recovery. The Finance Minister urged the World Bank to prioritise multilateral assistance for pandemic recovery and sovereign debt stress, highlighting Sri Lanka as requiring special attention, and sought World Bank support for India's infrastructure financing through mechanisms addressing the Single Borrower Limit, third party guarantees, and leadership continuity to advance the National Infrastructure Pipeline and Gati Shakti programme.