India seeks strong quota-based, adequately resourced IMF
She noted that 2023 has been a year of continued uncertainties and expressed concern about the weak medium-term growth and policy trade-offs confronting policymakers worldwide.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ meeting at Marrakech.
NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday made a case for a strong, quota-based, and adequately resourced IMF at the center of the global financial safety net and climate action on the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.
The 16th General Review of Quotas (GRQ) is expected to provide a greater say to developing economies in the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
As per an IMF resolution, the 16th GRQ should be concluded by December 15, 2023. Any adjustment in quota shares would be expected to result in an increase in voting rights of emerging countries in line with their relative positions in the world economy.
Participating in a breakfast meeting of the IMF Board of Governors on the theme of ‘Dialogue on Policy Challenges’ in Marrakesh, Morocco, Sitharaman expressed concerns with regard to a slowdown in global growth.
She noted that 2023 has been a year of continued uncertainties and expressed concern about the weak medium-term growth and policy trade-offs confronting policymakers worldwide.
However, she said, India continues to be the fastest-growing large economy with a growth of 7.8 per cent during the first quarter of 2023-24. With regard to escalating global debt vulnerabilities, she highlighted the importance of the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable to foster cooperation on debt issues and reforms in IMF policy to engage with members in debt distress.
“FM Smt. @nsitharaman reiterated commitment to a strong, quota-based and adequately resourced IMF at the centre of the global financial safety net, and climate action on the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities,” the finance ministry said in a post on X. The global financial safety net is a set of institutions and mechanisms that provide insurance against crises and financing to mitigate their impact. During the Plenary Meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) later in the day, the Finance Minister reiterated the importance of IMF quota reforms to ensure an adequately resourced IMF at the centre of Global Financial Safety Net, bolstering IMF’s lending capacity, and support to members through IMF’s lending toolkit to prevent debt crises. In her intervention, Sitharaman underlined the need for collective action on shared problems and noted the importance of IMF’s bilateral surveillance and capacity development in providing tailored advice to members.