"India is one of America's indispensable partners... "US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday said that "India is one of America's indispensable partners".

Janet Yellen, during her first visit to the country as US Treasury Secretary, on Friday, said that "India is one of America's indispensable partners". Speaking at Microsoft India Development Centre, Noida, where she met business leaders, she said, "This is my first visit to India as Treasury Secretary, I am delighted to be here as India celebrates its 75th year of independence and prepares to assume the G20 presidency. As President Joe Biden said, India is one of America's indispensable partners."

Yellen is in India to participate in the US-India Economic and Financial Partnership. Notably, the US surpassed China to become India's top trading partner in 2021-22, reflecting the strengthening economic ties between the two countries.

Recently, India has also joined a US-led initiative to set up an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and this move would help boost economic ties further. "Democracies can deliver for people. The trajectories of the global economy will be shaped by the work that India and the US undertake together; the same is true for the prosperity and security of the Indo-Pacific. US-India relationship continues to grow," said Yellen.

The IPEF is the centrepiece of the present US regime's economic strategy toward the Indo-Pacific region. In October 2021, the US announced the development of IPEF with partner nations to define shared objectives around trade facilitation, standards for the digital economy and technology, supply chain resiliency, decarbonization and clean energy, infrastructure, worker standards, and other areas of shared interest.

The US is working out the details of this strategy with a range of countries in the region, including Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea and India. The IPEF will focus on four main pillars: trade facilitation, supply chain resilience, infrastructure and decarbonization, and taxation and anti-corruption.

India is emerging as a trusted trading partner and global firms are reducing their dependence on China for their supplies and are diversifying their business into other countries like India. India is the fastest-growing market economy with an unparalleled demographic dividend and provides enormous opportunities for the US and Indian firms for technology transfer, manufacturing, trade and investment.

"Bilateral trade between the US and India reached an all-time high last year and we expect it to grow further. Our people and companies depend on each other on daily basis. Indians frequently use WhatsApp to communicate, and many American companies rely on Infosys to operate," said Yellen. Speaking about the Russia-Ukraine war and its lingering effects on the world economy, she said, "It's no surprise that India is among the fastest-growing major economies in the world. We're dealing with the lingering effects of the pandemic, spill-overs from Putin's barbaric war in Ukraine and macroeconomic tightening."

Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his "this isn't an era of war" statement, she said, "Millions of people face extreme poverty & hunger since Russia's war in Ukraine. PM Modi was correct when he said, this isn't an era of war... Difficult times test us, but I believe challenges are bringing India and the US closer together than ever before." (ANI)

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