Steven Mnuchin Talks Economy With RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who is on a tour to rally support against Iran, met Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das and business leaders in Mumbai on Saturday.

While the exact topics of discussion at the engagements were not immediately known, an RBI statement said Mnuchin discussed “global and domestic macroeconomic scenario in both countries and regulatory developments” with the RBI governor.

In a tweet, Mnuchin said he discussed issues related to the "monetary policy and the financial sector" with Das.

Mnuchin also had a luncheon meet with top officials of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, the government-promoted vehicle to support infrastructure investments in the country.

From his Twitter handle, Mnuchin said he discussed both U.S. and India’s “mutual interests in promoting investments” with NIIF brass.

He also paid homage to the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks by laying a wreath at South Mumbai’s Taj Hotel, one of the sites of the attacks that had claimed 166 lives on Nov. 26, 2008.

He was accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster and Consul General in Mumbai David J Ranz in all the engagements, a U.S. government spokesperson said.

He also had a roundtable meet with Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra, RPG Group Chairman Harsh Goenka and Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej.

Mnuchin left the city in the evening, the spokesperson said. He had come to Mumbai from New Delhi, where he had met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

It can be noted that India has had difficulties paying Iran for oil imports during previous rounds of sanctions led by the U.S., and RBI had played an important role for solutions in the same.

The U.S. has been peeved at Iran for pursuing a nuclear programme which it fears is being dictated by what it calls as a terror outfit, due to which it has imposed sanctions against Tehran.

It has been asking other nations to support it against Iran for the same. According to reports, India has stopped crude oil imports from Iran as a result of the sanctions earlier this year.