Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Finance Minister, began her five-day official visit to the United States on April 20, 2025, when she landed in San Francisco. She was greeted by Finance Secretary Ajay Seth, Consul General Srikar Reddy Koppula, and India’s Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, at San Francisco International Airport.
Sitharaman spoke at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution on the topic of “Laying the Foundations of Viksit Bharat 2047,” and then she participated in a fireside chat session during her two days in San Francisco.
She also attended a roundtable discussion with well-known investment management firms and spoke with the CEOs of key IT companies. Through a special community event, she also engaged with the Indian diaspora in San Francisco.
Sitharaman’s travel continued in Washington, D.C., from April 22 to 25, when she attended important international economic gatherings, such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings.
She also participated in the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR) meeting, the Development Committee Plenary, the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) Plenary, and the second G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) sessions.
Sitharaman had bilateral talks with finance ministers and central bank governors from the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Argentina, Bahrain, Luxembourg, and Saudi Arabia on the margins of these gatherings.
The EU Commissioner for Financial Services, the presidents of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the first deputy managing director of the IMF, and the Special Advocate for Financial Health of the UN Secretary-General were among the high-ranking representatives of major international financial institutions with whom she also met.
Sitharaman will make her first official visit to Peru from April 26 to 30 after her commitments in the United States. She will chair the India-Peru Business Forum, lead a group of ministry officials and Indian business leaders, and engage in bilateral discussions with Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzén, and other important ministers. Strengthening bilateral trade and economic ties, especially in the mining industry and essential minerals, is anticipated to be the main topic of discussion.
India’s attempts to strengthen economic connections with foreign partners, interact with international financial institutions, and advance India’s development agenda through strategic alliances and dialogues are highlighted by this visit.
