New Delhi, Feb 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday addressed the first meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors under India's G20 Presidency via video message today.
An official spokesman in a statement issued on the Press Information Bureau (PIB) said that addressing the gathering, the PM underlined that this was the first minister-level dialogue under India's G20 Presidency and conveyed his best wishes for a productive meeting.
Taking note of the challenges faced by the world in the present day, the PM said that the participants of Friday’s meeting were representing the leadership of global finance and economy at a time when the world was facing serious economic difficulties.
He gave examples of COVID-19 pandemic and its after-effects on the global economy, rising geo-political tensions, disruptions in global supply chains, rising prices, food and energy security, unsustainable debt levels affecting the viability of many countries, and the erosion of trust in international financial institutions due to their inability to reform quickly.
The PM pointed out that it was now up to the custodians of the leading economies and monetary systems of the world to bring back stability, confidence, and growth to the global economy.
Casting the spotlight on the vibrancy of the Indian economy, he highlighted the optimism of the Indian consumers and producers about the future of India’s economy and expressed hope that the member participants would draw inspiration while transmitting the same positive spirit to the global level.
The PM urged the members to focus their discussions on the most vulnerable citizens of the world and stressed that global economic leadership could win back the confidence of the world only by creating an inclusive agenda.
“The theme of our G20 Presidency promotes this inclusive vision - One Earth, One Family, One Future,” he said.
The PM said that progress on Sustainable Development Goals seemed to be slowing down even though the world population had crossed 8 billion.
He emphasised the need to strengthen Multilateral Development Banks for meeting global challenges like climate change and high debt levels
Highlighting the growing dominance of technology in the world of finance, the PM recalled how digital payments enabled contactless and seamless transactions during the pandemic.
He urged the member participants to explore and harness the power of technology while developing standards to regulate its possible risk of destabilisation and misuse in digital finance.
The PM said that India had created a highly secure, highly trusted, and highly efficient public digital infrastructure in its digital payments ecosystem over the past few years.
“Our digital payments ecosystem has been developed as a free public good,” he said and underlined that it had radically transformed governance, financial inclusion, and ease of living in the country.
Noting that the meeting was taking place in Bengaluru, the technology capital of India, the PM said that the participants could get first-hand experience of how Indian consumers had embraced digital payments.
He also talked about the new system created during India’s G-20 Presidency that allows G20 guests to use India's path-breaking digital payments platform, UPI. “Examples like UPI can be templates for many other countries too. We will be happy to share our experience with the world and the G20 can be a vehicle for this,” the PM said.
