FM Sitharaman urges World Bank to rescue countries facing debt stress during uncertain times

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman underlined the need to rescue countries facing debt stress due to the uncertainty caused by the pandemic and the recent geopolitical developments. 

"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," Sitharaman said during a meeting with World Bank Group President David Malpass on Friday. 

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Sri Lanka is grappling with its worst-ever economic crisis compounded by forex shortages and a balance of payments crisis. It is witnessing large-scale protests against the government's handling of the debt-ridden economy – the worst-ever economic crisis in Sri Lanka's history. 

The finance minister also said that India remains concerned about the risks to global recovery due to rising uncertainty amidst enhanced geopolitical tensions. 

The finance minister, who is visiting the US to attend IMF-WB (International Monetary Funds and World Bank) Spring Meetings 2022, suggested that multilateralism has become more critical as the world is undergoing a phase of exceptional uncertainty, an official finance ministry statement said. 

During the meeting, 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 the world's second-largest vaccination programme, administering more than 1.85 billion doses of vaccine, she said. 

She also discussed the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the world economy and India in particular; the economy and role of the World Bank Group; the Single Borrower Limit and exploring the possibility of Guarantees from other nations and India's G20 Presidency. 

Sitharaman highlighted India's roadmap for infrastructure development and said the country looks forward to World Bank's continued support for financing investments for the National Infrastructure Pipeline and Gati Shakti programme. 

Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a Rs 100 lakh crore national master plan for multi-modal connectivity that aims to develop infrastructure to reduce logistic costs and boost the economy. 

In her intervention at this session, the finance minister underlined that India voluntarily offered COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (CoWIN) platform to all countries and stands willing to provide assistance for other public-goods platforms recognising the importance of replication of proven and scalable digital platforms. 

She also drew the attention of the distinguished gathering in the meeting to the unprecedented situation in Sri Lanka and hoped for decisive relief to the island nation. 

(With PTI Inputs)