US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday lauded India’s economic growth in the uncertain global times, and called it ‘an indispensable friend to America’ during her first visit to the country. Yellen’s visit comes as India is set to assume the presidency of the grouping of the world’s 20 largest economies on December 1, following the G20 Summit hosted by Indonesia in Bali during November 15-16.
This is my first visit to India as Treasury Secretary. I’m delighted to be here as India celebrates its 75th year of independence & prepares to assume the G20 presidency. As President Biden said, India is one of America’s indispensable partners,” Janet Yellen was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. “Bilateral trade between the US and India reached an all-time high last year & we expect it to grow further,” Yellen said.
Terming the Ukraine war an outcome of Putin’s barbarism, she added, “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,” implying that economic challenges from the conflict and supply strains were drawing India and the United States closer together.
“The US relationship with India is strong and continues to deepen through trade, critical economic ties, and shared values,” she had tweeted earlier.
Yellen’s remarks come at a time when India has made clear that it would continue to buy Russian oil at a discount, because this benefits India’s economy, despite the efforts of the United States and Western allies to impose a price cap on Russian oil exports.
