FM Sitharaman to skip IMF meetings in Washington

INdia’s finance government minister Nirmala Sitharaman testament bound off this hebdomad’s yearbook World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington, HT has learnt, as India and the US remain locked in negotiations over trade and New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil.The Indian delegation to the meeting will instead be led by department of economic affairs secretary Anuradha Thakur and is expected to include Reserve Bank of India governor Sanjay Malhotra and chief economic adviser V Anantha Nageswaran.Sitharaman’s absence comes against the backdrop of unresolved trade tensions, with the Trump administration having imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods, which includes a 25% penalty over India’s Russian oil purchases.The annual gathering brings together finance ministers, central bankers and senior officials from over 100 countries to discuss global financial stability, poverty eradication and climate change, among other priorities.India’s delegation will participate in key meetings with BRICS, the G20 and the G24—a platform for developing countries—as well as a session of the IMF’s Board of Governors, its highest decision-making body.Malhotra is scheduled to deliver a public address on maintaining financial stability in emerging markets on October 15. An earlier tentative schedule had Sitharaman participating in a fireside chat the same day.Commerce minister Piyush Goyal met US trade representative Jamieson Greer in New York last month in a bid to build on an improvement in bilateral relations that had emerged in September, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump exchanged compliments on social media and spoke by telephone.External affairs minister S Jaishankar also met US secretary of state Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. A senior state department official said India’s Russian oil purchases were a key point of discussion.New Delhi and Washington have yet to reach a resolution on either trade or Russian oil, though Greer stated this month that India was being “pragmatic” on trade differences and had begun diversifying away from Russia.The IMF and World Bank have evolved into crucial pillars of the global financial system. While the IMF focuses on maintaining financial stability and assisting countries in distress, the World Bank targets development, poverty reduction and climate change.In 2024, the World Bank disbursed $117.5 billion in loans, grants and guarantees to countries and businesses. The IMF has outstanding loans totalling roughly $129 billion and has disbursed almost $21 billion this year alone.Sitharaman attended the Spring meetings of both institutions in Washington DC in April.