Yellen will use her time in Gandhinagar to try to foster warming relations between the U.S. and India. She also plans a stop in Hanoi, Vietnam, to address supply chain reliability, clean energy transition and other matters of economic resilience.
India's longstanding relationship with Russia also will loom as the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine continues despite U.S. and allied countries' efforts to sanction and economically bludgeon Russia's economy. India has not taken part in the efforts to punish Russia and maintains energy trade with that country despite a Group of Seven agreed-upon price cap on Russian oil, which has seen some success in slowing Russia's economy.
A senior Treasury official, speaking on condition of anonymity to preview Yellen's trip, said there was hope that debt treatments for Ghana and Sri Lanka will be discussed and completed quickly at the meetings. The agreement covers loans from countries such as France, the U.K., South Africa, Israel and India as well as China -- Zambia's biggest creditor at US$4.1 billion of the total. The deal may provide a roadmap for how China will handle restructuring deals with other nations in debt distress.