FM Arun Jaitley to visit US, Russia this week

Jaitley will leave for Washington on Wednesday and will attend the World Bank-IMF meetings on April 21-23.

New Delhi, Apr 17: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will visit the US this week to attend the 2017 Spring Meetings of the World Bank and IMF before travelling to Moscow to boost military ties with Russia.

Jaitley will leave for Washington on Wednesday and will attend the World Bank-IMF meetings on April 21-23, official sources said.

The meetings bring together central bankers, ministers of finance and development, private sector executives and academics to discuss issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook, global financial stability, poverty eradication, jobs and growth, economic development, and aid effectiveness.

Jaitley, who has regularly attended the meetings since becoming the Finance Minister in May 2014, is also likely to use the opportunity to meet his counterparts from countries like the US, they said. Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das will also be there in the US for the World Bank and IMF meetings.

From Washington, Jaitley will travel to Moscow for a two-day visit from April 25. Jaitley, who also holds additional charge of Defence Ministry, will discuss bilateral ties with Kremlin. The two nations, which had strong ties during the Cold War, had in October last year announced multi-billion dollar deals, when President Vladimir Putin visited India. They had announced plans for a joint venture to build helicopters in India.

Also, New Delhi decided to buy surface-to-air missile systems and stealth frigates from Moscow as the two nations look to deepen military ties. Both the countries also agreed on plans to build and supply stealth frigates to the Indian navy.

Sources said during his Moscow visit, Jaitley is likely to meet Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu to discuss bilateral ties. He will return to the capital on April 27.

PTI