Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman met former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Delhi on Tuesday and the two discussed potential new avenues to strengthen market-based financial ties and drive economic growth.

The Finance Minister stressed the importance of leveraging the Commonwealth to bring issues of mutual interest to the G7 agenda for the benefit of the Global South.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier emphasised India’s commitment to advocating the priorities and concerns of the Global South in his address at an Outreach session of the G7 summit in Italy’s Apulia region in June.

He said that these countries “are bearing the brunt of global uncertainties and tensions”.

The Prime Minister had particularly highlighted the inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the G-20 under India’s chairmanship to give the Global South a bigger voice on the world stage.

PM Modi had also called for ending the monopoly in technology by advanced countries. He stressed the importance of international governance in AI, highlighted during India’s hosting of the G-20 summit, aiming for transparent, fair, secure, accessible, and responsible AI technologies globally.

He underscored India’s leadership in artificial intelligence (AI), noting India’s status as one of the first countries to develop a national AI strategy and launch the AI Mission focused on ‘AI for All’.

PM Modi also outlined India’s energy principles based on availability, accessibility, affordability, and acceptability, pledging efforts to achieve Net Zero by 2070 and advocating for a collective global effort to promote a sustainable future.

Nirmala Sitharaman’s meeting with Rishi Sunak comes close on the heels of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday with the former Prime Minister of the UK.

“Nice to meet former UK PM @RishiSunak in Delhi today. Appreciate his constant support for strengthening India-UK relations,” he posted on X. The External Affairs Minister also shared some photographs of their meeting.

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