U.S. Treasury Secretary pitches for India’s greater role in handling debt restructuring for low-income countries

U.S. Secretary of Treasury Janet L. Yellen on Friday pitched for India to play an important role in handling debt restructuring for low and middle-income countries as a G20 leader.

The Treasury Secretary said that the U.S. is pursuing an approach called “friendshoring” to diversify away from countries that present geopolitical and security risks to supply chain.

“To do so, we are proactively deepening economic integration with trusted trading partners like India… And we are also addressing our reliance on manufacturers whose approaches clash with our human rights values,” she said.

Ms. Yellen also called for diversifying the supply chain and reducing dependency on “risky countries” who use their market positions to try to gain geopolitical leverage or disrupt trade for their own gain.

She also reiterated the U.S. support to India for the G20 presidency.

“India’s G20 year is a chance to accelerate global coordination on debt restructuring. Two years ago, the G20 established the Common Framework to bring all the major bilateral creditors together to coordinate timely and orderly debt relief for low-income countries. But the Common Framework has not delivered on its promise, largely because of lack of cooperation from China,” she said.