(Photo : https://x.com/FinMinIndia)
India's Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, emphasized India's commitment to African nations at the G7 African Ministerial Roundtable

• India's Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, emphasized India's commitment to African nations at the G7 African Ministerial Roundtable.
• Sitharaman urged G7 and G20 nations to intensify their support for Africa, focusing on capacity-building, public services, and climate change.
• She also stressed the importance of long-term and affordable financing for development and attracting foreign investment.
• The Union Minister's call for enhanced support from international financial institutions reflects a broader trend towards sustainable development and international cooperation.

India's Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman, recently addressed the G7 African Ministerial Roundtable, emphasizing India's commitment to African nations. This commitment, she stated, has been redefined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, particularly in areas such as infrastructure development and healthcare. Sitharaman urged the G7 and G20 nations to intensify their support for Africa, highlighting the deep-rooted partnership between India and Africa.

The Finance Minister's address was made on the sidelines of the Annual Meetings 2024. She emphasized the 10 guiding principles that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid out to redefine the partnership between India and Africa. These principles aim to support Africa's growth by focusing on capacity-building, enhancing public services, and addressing climate change.

Sitharaman also stressed the importance of scaling up access to long-term and affordable financing for development. She called for structural reforms and policy measures to promote domestic resource mobilisation and attract foreign investment, which she deemed crucial for building long-term financial resilience and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

India's Role in Global Sustainable Development

In a separate meeting with the First Deputy Managing Director (FDMD) of the International Monetary Fund, Gita Gopinath, Sitharaman congratulated her on her successful conduct of the Annual Meetings 2024. She expressed optimism for continued collaboration and highlighted recent Union Budget announcements focused on jobs and upskilling.

Gopinath, in her response, stated that it was wonderful to reconnect with the Finance Minister. She added that with a projected growth of 7 per cent in the financial year 2024-25, India is set to remain the largest growing major economy in the world.

The Union Minister's call for enhanced support from international financial institutions to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was echoed in a post on social media platform X by the Finance Ministry. The post highlighted the Union Minister's focus on increased lending capacity of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) as vital to achieving Sustainable Development Goals.

Historical Context and Future Implications

The Union Minister's call for enhanced support from international financial institutions and her emphasis on the importance of infrastructure development, healthcare, capacity-building, enhanced public services, and addressing climate change in India's partnership with Africa, reflect a broader trend in international relations. This trend is characterized by an increasing focus on sustainable development and the role of international cooperation in achieving it.

Historically, similar calls for enhanced international cooperation and support for sustainable development have been made at various international forums. For instance, at the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, world leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These goals, like the ones highlighted by Sitharaman, focus on areas such as poverty eradication, quality education, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth, and climate action.