On the sidelines of the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and IMF, the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley held a bilateral meeting with his US counterpart and the US Treasury Secretary, Mr. Steven Mnuchin in Washington D.C. yesterday. During the discussions, the Finance Minister Shri Jaitley highlighted the notable progress made in the Indo-US relations over the last few years and India’s ambitious reform agenda which is creating new opportunities towards a deeper economic engagement between both the countries in the years ahead. Critical economic issues like Indo-US Investment Initiative, Infrastructure Collaboration & NIIF, collaboration with USA for Smart Cities Development, etc. were deliberated upon during the meeting. The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley raised the issue of H1B visas for skilled professionals from India and highlighted the contribution which Indian companies and professionals are making to US economy. Issues related to terror funding were also discussed and the US Treasury Secretary appreciated the role of India in this regard, including Indo-US cooperation in FATF. 

The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley also held bilateral meetings with the Finance Ministers of Sweden, France and Bangladesh. The discussions covered a wide spectrum of bilateral collaboration to strengthen the cross-country relationships. The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley also held a bilateral meeting with the President of the World Bank Group (WBG), Mr. Jim Yong Kim among others. 

Shri Shaktikanta Das, Secretary (EA) held bilateral meetings with NDB President, Shri K.V. Kamath and IFAD President, Mr. Gilbert F. Houngbo separately. Various policy issues regarding NDB and IFAD were discussed during the meeting. The pipeline of projects posed by India was also reviewed during both the meetings. 

The Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley is currently on an official tour to Washington D.C., USA to attend the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank and other associated meetings. He is accompanied by Dr. Urjit Patel, Governor RBI, Mr. Shaktikanta Das, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), M/o Finance, Dr. Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) and other officials. 
 

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DSM/VKS 

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