Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to attend WB, IMF, G20 meets in US

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday will leave for a five-day visit to the United States to participate in the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and IMF as well as deliberations of G20 nations.

During his stay in Washington and New York, he will hold meetings with American CEOs and institutional and pension fund investors, where he will pitch India as a favourable investment destination.

The official delegation, led by Jaitley, includes among others, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das and Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian. Also, a team of RBI officials led by RBI Governor Urjit Patel will be attending the meeting.

Jaitley and Patel will participate in the G-20 meeting on April 21, which will focus on financial sector development and regulations and other issues. Das will also participate in the meeting, according to an official statement.

Later, the finance minister, along with Patel and Das, will attend the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) introductory session on Global Development and Prospects. This will be followed by a session on Early Warning Exercise.

The Spring Meetings bring together central bankers, ministers of finance and development, private sector executives and academics to discuss issues of global concern, including world economic outlook, global financial stability, poverty eradication, jobs and growth, economic development, and aid effectiveness.

Later in the day, Jaitley will hold a meeting with the CEOs. On April 22, Jaitley will participate in the IMFC Plenary Session, along with Patel and Das. The finance minister is also slated to hold a meeting with US Treasury Secretary and participate in the Development Committee Plenary Meeting of the World Bank.

In the evening, he will meet with his Bangladesh counterpart and call on the President, World Bank, the statement added. On April 23, Jaitley and Das will leave for New York and later in the evening and participate in dinner to be hosted by Indian industry chamber.

On April 24, Jaitley will have an interaction with the Council for Foreign Relations, followed by meetings with institutional and long-term investors. Later in the evening, Jaitley will travel to Moscow to boost military ties with Russia.