FM Nirmala Sitharaman to Skip IMF Meetings in Washington

New Delhi: The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will not be attending the annual World Bank and international Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings which will be held in Washington this week.

Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, who will be the head of the Indian delegation in her place, is Anuradha Thakur. The team will include the presence of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra and Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran as well.

The fact that Sitharaman did not attend the meeting is an indicator of the trade tension that still exists between the two countries. Earlier, the Trump administration imposed a 50 per cent tariff on Indian exports, a 25 per cent tariff on the Indian purchase of Russian oil.

India is yet to resolve its trade disputes with the US, and the choice of New Delhi to continue the purchase of Russian oil is continuing to create tension in relations with the US.

India will be in BRICS, G20, G24 meetings.

More than 100 countries are represented by delegates such as finance ministers, central bankers and top officials who meet annually at the IMF-World Bank meeting where they deliberate on things such as global stability, poverty alleviation, and climate change.

The representatives of India are going to hold meetings with BRICS, G20 and G24, and also one session of the Board of Governors of IMF, the principal decision making body.

RBI chief Sanjay Malhotra is expected to deliver a speech to the general public on financial stability in emerging economies October 15. Firstly, Sitharaman was to be engaged in a fireside.

Trade and oil talks ongoing

Most recently, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal engaged in negotiation with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the improvement of trade relations in New York. The meeting followed a thawing of tensions following exchange of compliments between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump on social media and a telephonic meet in September.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had discussions with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the UN general assembly, and this time around reports about talks were the purchase of Russian oil by India

No consensus is made regarding trade and oil issues, though talks are still going on. Greer however says that India has been a pragmatic country when it comes to trade disputes and is now beginning to lighten its reliance on Russian imports.