FM Nirmala Sitharaman meets Swiss President Ueli Maurer in Washington

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met Ueli Maurer, President of Swiss Confederation and Head of Federal Dept of Finance of Switzerland in Washington DC on Friday. The two dignitaries held bilateral discussions on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund-World Bank Annual Meetings 2019.

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Sitharaman leads the Indian delegation to IMF-WB meetings

The Finance Minister is currently on an official tour to Washington DC to attend the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank and other associated meetings. She is accompanied by Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and other officials from the Department. On Friday, Sitharaman led the Indian delegation to the Annual Meetings Plenary session of the IMF and the World Bank Group. During her address, Sitharaman said that increased trade integration, geopolitical uncertainties, and high accumulated debt levels necessitate strong global coordination.

"We need not wait for the slowdown to become a crisis," she said adding that trade wars and protectionism have generated uncertainties that will ultimately impact the flow of capital, goods, and services. Sitharaman also led the Indian delegation at G20 Finance Ministers and central bank governors meeting in which the deliberations centered on international taxation and stable coins.

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Other meetings on the sidelines

On the sidelines, she held several bilateral meetings, including with First Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Russia Anton Siluanov, Finance Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic Baktygul Jeenbaeva, Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Finance Minister of Maldives Ibrahim Ameer.

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(With ANI inputs)