India an important global player: Bernanke

India is becoming a vital player in the global economy, US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S Bernanke said on Wednesday after a meeting with his Indian counterpart - RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao.

He termed his discussions with the Reserve Bank Governor and others as "very worthwhile".

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"India is clearly becoming a more and more important player on the world stage, in G20 context, in terms of its role in the global economy and I think it's very useful for us to continue to exchange ideas and to build the basis for a future collaboration and coordination," Bernanke said at the RBI headquarters in Mumbai.

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Describing as "very constructive" his first ever visit to the country, which also makes him the first US Fed Chairman to do so, Bernanke said he discussed policy challenges in both the US and India.

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Bernanke, along with US treasury secretary Timothy Geithner had a luncheon meeting with RBI top officials, which was followed by a 90-minute interactive meeting in which only the US Fed chairman participated, Subbarao said.

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"We talked of the global economy, we talked about the monetary policy and regulatory policies. We discussed some banking issues that we have mutual interest in," Bernanke said.

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The Fed chairman, however, did not take any questions from the media. Earlier on Wednesday morning, Bernanke and Geithner met the captains of India Inc in Mumbai.

"I think it has been very worthwhile for me to being here," Bernanke said.