Sitharaman, Yellen discuss illicit finance & terror funding
Washington/ new delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her American counterpart Janet Yellen have discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in fighting illicit finance, money laundering and terror financing and agreed on the importance of effective implementation of the FATF standards.
The two dignitaries held a wide-ranging discussion to step up bilateral cooperation during the eighth India-USA Economic and Financial Partnership meeting held here on Thursday. The importance of fighting illicit finance and the need for continued cooperation in tackling money laundering and combating the terror funding was underpinned by Sitharaman and Yellen, the Finance Ministry said in a tweet, as the two countries issued a detailed joint statement after the meeting.
We continue to strengthen our cooperation in tackling money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism through increased information sharing and coordination, said the joint statement. Both sides agree on the importance of fighting financial crimes and on the effective implementation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards to protect our financial systems from abuse, it added.
It assumes importance as the Paris-based global body against money laundering and terror financing in June retained Pakistan on its 'grey list' for failing to check money laundering, leading to terror financing.
The FATF asked Pakistan to investigate and prosecute UN-designated terrorists based in the country like Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed and also asked Islamabad to work to address its strategically important
deficiencies.
During the first India-US Economic and Financial Partnership meeting since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries also agreed on further engagements on emerging financial sectors such as cross-border payments, payment systems and the development of an
International Financial Services Centre.
Sitharaman and Yellen were also joined by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das, during the meeting.
Sitharaman and Yellen affirmed their commitment to continue engagement both bilaterally and multilaterally to address global economic issues.
"India and the United States look forward to continued collaboration to support the global recovery under the G20 Presidency of Indonesia next year. As India prepares for its 2023 G20 Presidency, the United States stands ready to support India in hosting a successful and productive year," the joint statement said.
During the ministerial meeting, we took stock of the extensive efforts that have already been undertaken by both sides to deepen mutual understanding and highlighted new elements of the vital bilateral relationship, it said.
The two sides should continue to engage in discussions on the full reciprocal arrangement on FATCA. The two sides look forward to continued collaboration for increased cooperation in sharing of information for tackling offshore tax evasion, the statement added.
The two leaders acknowledged the unprecedented impact that the COVID-19 crisis has had on lives and livelihoods. We also addressed the importance of maintaining supportive policies until a strong and inclusive recovery is firmly entrenched, it said.
India has not only faced the COVID-19 crisis with great resilience and fortitude but has also played a major role and "walked the talk" on the global fight against the pandemic, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said on Friday, highlighting that the measures taken by the government have set a strong foundation of the country's sustained economic growth.
