Sitharaman seeks stronger EU, Korea ties in critical minerals, finance
Washington: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis and South Korean Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yun-cheol on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) Meeting in Asheville, seeking to deepen economic and financial cooperation with both partners.
Sitharaman and Dombrovskis discussed further deepening the India-EU Economic and Financial Partnership, including through the India-EU macroeconomic dialogue and the Trade and Technology Council. They also reviewed the ongoing India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and Investment Protection Agreement negotiations and reaffirmed their commitment to taking them forward.
The two sides discussed building resilient and diversified supply chains, including cooperation in critical raw materials and technologies. Sitharaman emphasised that India needed to go beyond sourcing critical minerals and develop domestic processing and value-addition capabilities.
They also explored greater cooperation in FinTech, AI and generative AI, including stronger engagement between Indian and European start-ups.
In her meeting with Koo, Sitharaman described South Korea as an important economic partner and discussed strengthening bilateral economic and financial cooperation, including early working-level consultations for the India-Korea Finance Ministers’ Meeting.
She highlighted the Special Strategic Partnership between the countries and welcomed greater Korean investment in emerging sectors. She also said Indian companies would explore investment opportunities in South Korea to promote mutually beneficial investment flows.
Sitharaman suggested strengthening investment cooperation through the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund and advancing the proposed concessional credit line under Korea’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund framework for infrastructure and green-transition investments in India.
The ministers also discussed efforts to enable interoperability between India’s and South Korea’s QR-based payment systems, which could facilitate cross-border payments.