G20 Finance Track will take up cryptocurrency, MDB reforms next

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Marrakech in October to deliberate over possible reforms at multilateral development banks (MDBs), crypto-asset regulations and the global economic outlook, economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth told Banikinkar Pattanayak in an interview. Edited excerpts.

What are the Finance Track’s most significant outcomes under India’s G20 presidency?

There are many important outcomes of the Finance Track… Three particularly relevant in the current global context are a widening of the discussion on strengthening MDBs incorporating perspectives of the Global South; firming up the building blocks for a globally coordinated and comprehensive policy and regulatory framework for crypto assets; and advancing financial inclusion and productivity gains through digital public infrastructure.

How does G20 plan to achieve better, bigger and more efficient MDBs and by when?

G20 leaders have committed to pursuing ambitious efforts to evolve and strengthen MDBs.The call for bigger, better and more effective MDBs is based on this commitment.

There are three key elements, as reflected in the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration, to achieve this goal. First, the G20 independent expert group on strengthening multilateral development banks was established and it has submitted the first (of its two-volume) report, which recommends a triple agenda that dovetails with the call for better, bigger and more effective MDBs.Second, there is agreement to collectively work towards boosting the World Bank’s financing capacity.