Nirmala Sitharaman: Strong India-US ties strengthen global order

Washington: The Finance Minister of India said on Tuesday that the US-India relationship is at its best and will strengthen the global order in these challenging times.

In a video interview released by the think tank Atlantic Council, she says that both countries have found their place together, and they are comfortable working with each other.

She noted that the United States-India relationship is in very good times and this will strengthen the global order.

"Although the global order itself is something which we'll have to look at fresh, considering that multilateral institutions today (are) not really as strong, as nimble, as output-oriented, as they were once upon a time...

"So these are changing times. I would think, this kind of relationship between the United States and India are signs of positive development...," she added.

A few months ago, the two sides had a dialogue called 'two plus two,' where both foreign and defence ministers had sat down and discussed a wide range of topics. She described these recent developments as unimaginable.

"So, I think this is one of those times when India and United States, the two large democracies, have found their space and they are comfortable working with each other," she said.

She described the recent Indo Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) as a great initiative that has come from the US and said India is considering it and will come up with a response.

In addition to Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and India, it is a very innovative way of engaging with countries in that region.

The proposed IPEF consists of four pillars: fair and resilient trade (comprising seven subtopics, such as labor, environment, and digital standards); supply chain resilience; infrastructure, clean energy, and decarbonization; and tax and anti-corruption.

"All of them (countries) are being brought on board for the IPEF. So, there is a new traction to this relationship...So these four pillars are cross cutting issues which pertain to the economy, which pertain somewhat to the strategic domain also," she added.

Sitharaman stated that regulations around cryptocurrencies would take some time since her government is trying to establish a protocol based on wide consultations.

"Many countries have already started looking at coming up with protocols. We need a technological solution to deal with it. I don't think there is one yet. And it has its own repercussions," she added.