Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday arrived in Asheville, North Carolina, for the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting, which will focus on strengthening global growth amid conflicts in West Asia and Europe.
Sitharaman is on a six-day visit to the US from August 28 to September 2 as part of a broader nine-day overseas tour that began in Canada.
She was received by India’s Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in South Carolina.
The minister arrived in Asheville from Chicago, where she participated in a roundtable with prominent investors and held interactions with leading CEOs, presidents and senior representatives of the private sector.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is hosting the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting in Asheville, a city nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, on Monday and Tuesday.
“Just as President Donald Trump is reviving American economic growth and making it the centrepiece of this Administration’s agenda, we are taking the same approach and prioritising growth as the host of this year’s G20 Finance Track,” Bessent said.
Bessent, who arrived in Asheville along with Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh, said in a social media post that the US looked forward to bringing together policymakers and private-sector leaders from around the world to underscore that stronger growth is “not only possible, but necessary”.
On the sidelines of the G20 meetings, Sitharaman on Sunday met William Brown, chairman and CEO of 3M, the American multinational conglomerate with operations spanning industry, worker safety and consumer goods.
“The discussion focused on deepening 3M’s engagement with India, as the country moves beyond being a large consumer market to an increasingly important platform for advanced manufacturing, technology and innovation,” the Finance Ministry said.
The two also discussed data security and the optimal utilisation of India’s talent pool, the ministry said.
Sitharaman said there was considerable scope to deepen localisation, research and development, and technology development in India by leveraging the country’s talent and manufacturing capabilities. She said 3M could strengthen regional innovation to serve not only the domestic market but also global and Asia-Pacific supply chains.
The finance minister acknowledged 3M’s consistent confidence in India and encouraged the company to consider further investments in R&D, advanced manufacturing and local supply-chain development.
Brown appreciated the availability of India’s deep talent pool and said the country offered significant opportunities for technology development and expansion in local markets. He also acknowledged the government’s support and the impact of its broader reform measures.
-PTI
