NEW DELHI: India on Monday demanded the Asian Development Bank to reduce funding for Pakistan, as New Delhi continued disciplinary measures against Islamabad in response to the recent terror attack in Pahalgam.
During the 58th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Milan, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman urged ADB President Masato Kanda to reduce financial assistance to Pakistan, which was amongst several other topics addressed, news agency ANI reported quoting sources.
India has significantly reduced diplomatic ties with Pakistan following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 people and injured several others, mostly tourists.
India intends to petition FATF (Financial Action Task Force) to place Pakistan on the grey list, sources told ANI. India has also suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, an action that will gradually diminish Pakistan’s water resources.
Earlier today, sharing a post on X, the Finance Ministry said during the meet, “Sitharaman reiterated that India focuses on private sector-led economic growth and has been consistently creating a conducive policy and regulatory ecosystem through bold initiatives such as the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, Corporate Tax Rate Reduction and GST implementation, Production-Linked Incentives, National Infrastructure Pipeline, GatiShakti National Master Plan, and StartupIndia, among others, for greater Ease of Doing Business.”
“The finance minister emphasised that India offers opportunities for ADB to pilot new, innovative financing products and models,” the post added.
The ADB President expressed “full support to India’s development priorities, guided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.”
Sitharaman is heading the Indian delegation of officials from the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, at the 58th Annual Meeting of ADB’s Board of Governors, occurring from May 4 to 7 in Milan.