FM seeks concessional climate finance
1 min read . Updated: 04 May 2023, 11:15 PM IST
PremiumDuring her intervention at the business session of the Board of Governers at the ADB’s annual meeting, Sitharaman said the lender should adopt a “transformational approach” for sustainable and resilient regional development.
INCHEON: : Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked the Asian Development Bank to consider more ways for providing concessional climate finance, especially to middle-income countries like India.
During her intervention at the business session of the Board of Governers at the ADB’s annual meeting, Sitharaman said the lender should adopt a “transformational approach" for sustainable and resilient regional development.
“I am happy that ADB has started exploring the range of instruments available for its evolution... I look forward to know how ADB will meet its ambition with more concessional climate finance, especially to middle-income countries like India, whose economic progress, consistent with the pursuit of its net zero goal by 2070, can have a huge positive impact on the region and beyond," she said.
The minister also said the ADB should continuously engage with sovereign and private sectors and be aligned to generating more resources and operational efficiencies, so as to meet the aspirations of developing member countries for sustained development finance.
“While continuing to focus on its core agenda of poverty reduction and development of the LICs (low income countries), ADB should focus on Global Public Goods (GPGs) in their regional dimension," she said. She noted the ADB’s ambition to deliver climate financing to its developing member countries and the establishment of the Innovative Finance Facility for Climate in Asia and the Pacific Financing Partnership.
Sitharaman added that the Indian economy was on a relatively stronger trajectory, in spite of the prevailing economic uncertainties, on the back of proactive policies and empowerment-led development. “We continue to focus on strategic and integrated infrastructure development driven by unprecedented capital expenditure and building economic competitiveness while integrating with global value chains," she said.
Sitharaman is on a four-day visit to South Korea for the ADB’s annual meeting. On Wednesday, she met with several Korean investment groups including Mirae Asset Global Investments, Hyundai Infracore and Export-Import Bank of Korea, and highlighted investment opportunities in the National Infrastructure Pipeline, National Monetisation Pipeline, Digital Public Infrastructure and Production Linked Incentive scheme, besides real estate sector and FDI.
Investors indicated their willingness and commitment to participate in the Production Linked Incentive Scheme, especially for the mobile phone and electronic components sector, the finance ministry said in a statement on Twitter.
Yoon Hee-sung, chairman and president of the Export-Import Bank of Korea briefed Sitharaman on the bank’s activities in India.
The reporter is in Incheon, South Korea, on the invitation of the Asian Development Bank.