New India government finmin urges changes to World Bank
NEW DELHI, July 23, (AFP): India’s new government has called for reforms to the World Bank structure to reflect the “emerging” clout of developing nations in a meeting with visiting bank chief Jim Yong Kim.
The government, which took office in May, said in a statement late Tuesday that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stressed at an evening meeting with Kim the need for significant changes to the way the World Bank operates. sus” unless it got “visible outcomes” convincing it that members would engage seriously in negotiations on finding a solution on food stockpiling.
Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman underscored New Delhi’s concerns when trade officials of the
Jaitley told Kim that the Bank needs to play a “global role in poverty reduction and development” and also “reflect the emerging world order in its governance”.
Kim is on an official visit to India that wraps up Wednesday during which he is meeting members of the country’s new right-wing government.
The call by India’s finance minister came on the heels of the BRICS group of nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — Group of 20 industrial and developing nations met in Australia last weekend.
Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb was quoted in media reports as saying “all efforts” would be made “to establish procedures that will give comfort to India on its food security”. establishing earlier this month a development bank to rival the World Bank.
At a meeting in mid-July, BRICS leaders agreed on the set-up of a $50-billion development bank by granting China its headquarters and India its first rotating presidency.
The move has been seen as a step away by developing nations from the traditional commanding role of Western nations in the global economy.
Under India’s stockpile programme, rice and wheat are bought from farmers by government agencies at normally higher-than-market rates and sold to the poor at subsidised prices.
But rich WTO member nations fear permitting food stockpiles creates trade
India and other developing nations have long faulted the World Bank for failing to give stronger voting rights to developing nations despite the fact they are home to some 40 percent of the global population.
The Press Trust of India news agency quoted Kim as saying late Tuesday that India had historically been the World Bank’s biggest borrower and its success hinged on the country achieving economic success. distortions.
At the time of the Bali agreement, WTO members agreed on a “peace clause” to protect India from WTO action over food security stockpiles until a “permanent” solution to the issue was reached by 2017.