Sitharaman said the Indian government has expressed its view to the United
States
India wants to comply with global sanctions, including US sanctions on
Venezuela and Russia, but also needs to maintain its own strength and
strategic interests, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in an
interview on Tuesday.
The United States in January imposed the toughest sanctions yet on
Venezuela''s oil industry. The move has scared away some global customers,
but with few alternative suppliers of heavy oil, Indian refiner Reliance
Industries Ltd has been buying Venezuelan crude from Russian major
Rosneft. The company is set to resume direct oil loadings in the South
American nation after a four-month pause.
Sitharaman said the Indian government has expressed its view to the United
States.
"In specific issues which are critical for India''s strategic interests, we have
explained to the United States that India is a strategic partner for the United
States of America and you want a strategic partner to be strong and not
weakened," she said.
"We value the strong partnership with the USA, but we should equally be
allowed to be a strong economy."The International Monetary Fund earlier on Tuesday lowered its outlook for
Indian growth in 2019, citing weaker-than-expected domestic demand. The
US-China trade war will cut 2019 global growth to its slowest pace since the
2008/09 financial crisis, the IMF said.
India''s gross domestic product grew at its weakest pace since 2013 between
April and June, stoking expectations of further stimulus.
"Global headwinds ... are getting stronger by the day," Sitharaman said.
Asked about further fiscal stimulus, she said: "I have not closed the door" on
that.
New Delhi has been trying to boost domestic growth through an
infrastructure package and a new loan programme organised with the
banking sector that has doled out loans worth over 80,000 crore (8.7 billion
pounds), she said.
The finance minister defended the government''s controversial actions in
Jammu and Kashmir in August. India stripped the Muslim-majority portion
of the state, which is claimed by both India and Pakistan, of autonomy on
Aug. 5. Since then the government has shut off phone networks, imposed
curfew-like restrictions in some areas, and arrested thousands, including
hundreds of local politicians.
The removal of the constitutional article that granted special status to
Jammu and Kashmir will boost the region and the country''s economic
potential, she said.
Human rights groups say the crackdown is spreading fear among the local
population. For decades before India''s recent actions, women, scheduled
castes, and nomadic tribes were denied human rights in Kashmir,
Sitharaman said. "Where was the global community''s human rights concern
at that time?"
Source: The Business Standard, India Thursday, 17 October 2019