FM Sitharaman arrives in South Carolina, set to attend crucial G-20 finance ministerial meet

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman arrived in South Carolina on Sunday to attend a conference of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors to discuss global growth, economic imbalances, sovereign debt, and the effects of the Iranian crisis.

As part of a larger nine-day tour that commenced in Canada, Sitharaman is currently in the United States for six days, from August 29 to September 2.

Vinay Mohan Kwatra, India’s ambassador to the US welcomed her on Sunday at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in South Carolina.

The minister traveled from Chicago to Asheville, which is roughly 760 kilometres from Washington. There, she attended a roundtable meeting with notable investors and interacted with CEOs, presidents, and senior private sector leaders.

The G-20 meeting of central bank governors and finance ministers is being hosted by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday and Tuesday in Asheville, a community nestled away in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

“As the host of this year’s G20 Finance Track, we are taking the same approach and prioritising growth, just as President Donald Trump is reviving American economic growth and making it the centerpiece of this administration’s agenda,” Bessent stated.

In a social media post, Bessent, who traveled to Asheville with Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh, stated that the US was eager to bring together leaders of the private sector and policymakers from around the world to emphasize that greater growth is “not only possible, but necessary.”

Sitharaman met William Brown, Chairman and CEO of 3M, an American multinational corporation with operations in consumer goods, industrial, and worker safety, on Sunday outside the G-20 meetings.

According to the Finance Ministry, “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.”

Sitharaman and Brown also talked about data security and how to best engage the Indian talent pool in local businesses, the report added.

On Saturday, the minister, while addressing a high-level Business Roundtable with leading investors and business leaders in Chicago, urged international investors to use talent and opportunity to develop for the globe by inviting them to establish industrial bases and technology and innovation centers in India.

She highlighted India’s broad-based growth, reform momentum and expanding opportunities for long-term investment.