In order to fast-track India's energy transition, the United States is working with the country to develop an investment platform to lower the cost of capital and increase private investments, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said at the G20 Summit in Gandhinagar. "We look forward to working with India on investment platform to deliver a lower cost of capital and increased private investment to speed India's energy transition," Yellen said in a joint statement made alongside Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the sidelines of the summit. She said the two countries were close to reaching an agreement on global minimum tax system. Sitharaman said India would explore new investment opportunities through alternate investment platforms for renewable energy with the US. “Today our discussions highlight the commitment of India and the United States to actively further the G20 agenda. These include addressing critical global issues such as strengthening the Multilateral Development Banks and taking coordinated climate action, facilitating consensus to intractable issues associated with rising indebtedness of low and middle-income countries; and harnessing opportunities presented by crypto-assets and digital public infrastructure for financial inclusion,” Sitaraman said her statement. “I also look forward to furthering our bilateral interests through development cooperation and new investment opportunities through Alternate Investment platforms for renewable energy,” the minister added. Speaking at the event, Yellen said, “The world is looking towards G20 to make progress on key challenges like climate change and pandemics. As part of our work to strengthen global economy and to support developing countries I am hopeful that we can take significant concrete steps forward in our meetings. I appreciate India’s demonstrated leadership on debt issues as G20 President, including the support for G20 efforts to improve the multilateral debt restructuring process. I also welcome India’s focus on advancing the evolution of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs)” “We are also proud to have supported Ajay Banga’s candidature to lead the World Bank and we believe he is providing the right leadership to deliver on these critical reforms. It is also important to address the immediate need to boost the bank’s concessional lending capacity for global challenges,” she added Ahead of the third Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) summit on Monday, Sitharaman also hosted an informal breakfast for her G20 counterparts in Gandhinagar.
