Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman meets Singapore FM Lawrence Wong; discusses setting up AI centres

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met her counterpart from Singapore, Lawrence Wong, today. The two met on the sidelines of the G7 meetings in Niigata, Japan. 

The two ministers explored their views on strengthening the ties between the two nations. They discussed issues like the digital payment gateway established between the two countries, green transition, food security, skill development, MDB reforms, crypto assets, pandemic preparedness and others. 

Sitharaman discussed setting up new AI centres, highlighting the emergence of artificial Intelligence. The ministers discussed skilling in the context of these AI centres and explored ways in which the two countries could collaborate for AI research and quantum computing. 

Following the meeting, Lawrence Wong tweeted out about the UPI-PayNow link, inviting other countries to jump on board. 

Lawrence Wong wrote on Twitter, following the meeting with Sitharaman: “Happy to meet India Minister of Finance @nsitharaman in Niigata. Very happy about the launch of PayNow-UPI link. We welcomed others to come onboard. Many more opportunities to collaborate on the digital economy, both bilaterally & at the G20.”

The PayNow-UPI link was established in February early this year. The project allowed for a 24/7 cross-border monetary link to be established between the two countries. With this link, people of both countries would be able to transfer funds cross-border. 

Sitharaman also met other notable names on the sidelines of G7. 

The FM met Fernando Haddad, the Finance Minister of Brazil and the two discussed strengthening MDBs, debt vulnerabilities and the digital public infrastructure.

Sitharaman also addressed the G7 Seminar on economic policies for welfare and highlighted the dilemmas faced by emerging markets and developing economies as they have to balance between climate security and growth and manage overlapping crises and socio-economic transformation.

Coming off the heels of the PayNow-UPI link, Sitharaman touched upon technological advancements that have improved access for the poor to basic services and emphasized on the ability of digital connectivity to empower people. 

She also focused on the importance of sustainable growth and the environment balancing the two in the grand scheme.