Hon’ble NDB Governors, President NDB, Senior Management, Ladies and Gentlemen.
- At the outset, I take this opportunity to congratulate NDB and the Government of the Republic of South Africa for organizing this 9th Annual meeting of the Bank. It gives me immense pleasure to be here today, in this beautiful city of Cape Town.
- We are meeting at a time of unique global challenges marked by subdued economic growth, rapid technological change, climate change related vulnerabilities and geopolitical uncertainties.
- The world is woefully off track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by the 2030 deadline. Estimates suggest a financing gap of USD 4 trillion, while many countries face risks of debt distress exacerbated by high borrowing costs.
- However, we are not here to dwell on this gloomy state of affairs. We are here to identify and exploit the unique opportunities underlying these global risks and to promote investments for a resilient, sustainable and inclusive future.
- I am proud to share with you all that Indian economy has shown remarkable growth and resilience in the post COVID era and is poised to remain one of the fastest growing countries globally in the next few years.
- Strong capital infusion, focus on macroeconomic stability and directed efforts for promoting digitalization has been vital in securing this feat amidst numerous domestic and external vulnerabilities.
- The 2024 World Development Report has noted digital capital in India to increase entrepreneurship and business income, favoring several small-scale vendors and economically lagging districts. India has shown that last-mile financial inclusion can be a strong enabler for countries to achieve at least seven sustainable development goals.
- As a step towards actualizing this vision, India, recently, concluded a Technical Cooperation Agreement with African Development Bank by committing a grant of INR 500 million to support digital financial inclusion initiatives in Africa.
- India’s G20 Presidency provided a unique opportunity to voice the concerns and aspirations of the Global South in multilateral forums. The inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 is a big boost for the representation of the Global South in the G20 forum. This focus has been taken forward by the Brazilian G20 Presidency and we are happy to collaborate with South Africa to take it further during its G20 Presidency in 2025.
- Going forward, the role of MDBs, including NDB, remains central to achieving the global agendas such as SDGs.
- However, to effectively deliver on this mandate, MDBs need to be radically reformed and strengthened in line with the recommendations of the G20 Independent Expert Group.
- In essence, key policy recommendations for the MDBs include operating together as a system, bring in operational efficiency and tripling of their financing levels to respond to the rising demands.
- In particular, NDB is looked upon to scale up its investments in emerging sectors such as clean energy, disaster resilient infrastructure and social infrastructure with a keen focus on health, education and digital infrastructure.
- Apart from direct investment to phase in renewables, low carbon technology transfer is also of great relevance.
- To effectively deliver on these expectations, NDB needs to significantly scale up its funding capacity, mobilize additional private capital, and widen the horizon of its non-lending.
- Standardization and scale of financial products, and fostering an enabling environment, particularly through derisking, greater use of guarantees and insurance is key to attracting and mobilizing greater private capital.
- In addition, addressing technology risk, development risk and pricing risk are critical for incentivizing the institutional investors to promote adoption of renewable energy.
- Overall, there is an urgent need for transformation of the MDB system and alignment of the international financial architecture with the principles of sustainable development.
- The NDB’s establishment in 2015 completely redefined the paradigm of multilateral cooperation with its unique model of inclusive governance led by emerging and developing economies having equal contributions and equal voice. Now, almost after a decade, it’s time to turn the heads again. It’s time to take the lead in driving the sustainable development agenda for the world.
- Finally, it goes without saying that the key to all these interventions lies in strategic partnerships and effective collaborations. So, let us all rise to the challenge with our collective wisdom, experience, skills, and technology.
- To conclude, I assure you of India’s continued cooperation with the NDB, the member countries, and the larger global community in this journey.
Thank You.