BENGALURU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his inaugural speech at the G20 meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) urged global “leading economies and monetary systems” to work towards addressing the needs of “the most vulnerable citizens of the world”. Highlighting that the global financial institutions’ image had suffered especially in the last few years, he appealed the economic institutions to work towards restoring “stability, confidence and growth to the global economy”.
Addressing the meeting via video message on February 24th, the Prime Minister underlined that this was the first minister-level dialogue under India’s G20 presidency and conveyed his best wishes for a productive meeting. The first FMCBG meeting took place from February 24-25 in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Present-day challenges
Taking note of the challenges faced by the world in the present day, PM Modi said that the participants of the meeting were representing the leadership of global finance and economy at a time when the world was facing serious economic difficulties.
PM Modi gave examples of the Covid pandemic and its after-effects on the global economy, rising geopolitical tensions, disruptions in global supply chains, rising prices, food and energy security, unsustainable debt levels affecting the viability of many countries and the erosion of trust in international financial institutions due to their inability to reform quickly.
Bring stability back
PM Modi pointed out that it was now up to the custodians of the leading economies and monetary systems of the world to bring back stability, confidence and growth to the global economy.
Shining light on the vibrancy of the Indian economy, PM Modi highlighted the optimism of the Indian consumers and producers about the future of India’s economy and hoped that the member participants would draw inspiration while transmitting the same positive spirit to the global level.
PM Modi urged the members to focus their discussions on the most vulnerable citizens of the world and stressed that global economic leadership could win back the confidence of the world only by creating an inclusive agenda.
“The theme of our G20 Presidency promotes this inclusive vision – One Earth, One Family, One Future,” PM Modi said.
