India, US to work on MDBs, climate action, inclusion

livemint.com:

GANDHINAGAR : India and the US have agreed to collaborate on a range of issues, including strengthening multilateral development banks (MDBs), promoting climate action, and facilitating energy transition, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. After a meeting with US treasury secretary Janet Yellen at a G20 event on Monday, Sitharaman said the two countries would also work to smoothen the consensus on indebtedness of low- and middle-income countries and harness opportunities presented by crypto assets and digital public infrastructure for financial inclusion.

“I also look forward to furthering our bilateral interests through development cooperation and new investment opportunities through alternate investment platforms for renewable energy," Sitharaman said. “By leveraging each other’s expertise and resources, we actively promote economic growth, foster innovation, and drive sustainable development," she added.

Yellen said the US estimates that MDBs could raise $200 billion over the next decade just from the measures already being implemented or are under deliberation as part of this process. “The recently released G20 MDB experts group report is one recent useful input to this work, though we must only explore capital increases after the reforms in these areas have progressed further," Yellen said.

The US treasury secretary said India and the US are close to agreeing on the so-called two-pillar global tax deal. The two-pillar mechanism involves increasing the authority of nations to tax multinational corporations (MNCs) on the one hand and installing a global minimum tax on MNCs on the other.