New Delhi, May 3 (IANS): Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) Governor for India, on Monday participated in the Governors' Seminar on "Cooperation for a Resilient Future", held as part of ADB's annual meeting 2021.
Other participants included Japan, Georgia, China, the Philippines and Netherlands. The virtual seminar was attended by delegates from 68 member nations of the ADB.
Speaking during the meeting, Sitharaman expressed her appreciation and gratitude for India's frontline workers determinedly fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Sharing her views on the feasibility for a green and resilient recovery from the crisis borne by the current pandemic and the role of India in this regard, the Finance Minister mentioned that India has been at the forefront of various initiatives aiming at the same through setting up of the SAARC Covid-19 emergency fund, and leading by example in global initiatives of Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) and COVAX.
India's leadership in the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and commitment to Paris Agreement goals has become an example of how positive global climate action can be advanced through partnership, she added.
Sitharaman mentioned that overall, enhanced regional and global cooperation is the key to become successful in the common pursuit of a resilient recovery. Information on all tools for fighting Covid-19 -- diagnostic, therapeutic, vaccines or technology -- should be shared internationally, she stressed.
She also emphasised on the need to enable India's access to critical raw materials essential for ramping up India's vaccine manufacturing capacity.
The Finance Minister also spoke on the need for private sector and civil society for partnering with the government to achieve resilient growth. She mentioned how Indian vaccine developers have cooperated and provided vaccines to the government at reasonable prices. Private companies are also contributing under their corporate social responsibility obligations. The Indian government's policies aimed at reviving and supporting MSMEs will also go a long way in supporting resilient growth, she said.
She also stated that cooperation for resilient and sustainable growth needs the involvement of multilateral institutions for creation of digital assets as well as disaster resilient assets while keeping human development a priority. She assured that India is committed to and stands ready to strengthen all efforts aimed at enhancing regional as well as global cooperation.
Sitharaman appreciated the ADB for providing timely financial support for Covid and non-Covid projects. She said that there should be a greater focus on health resilience in the Asia-Pacific and the ADB should come out with comprehensive solutions to address these.