Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that building on India-UK partnership, the countries are exploring new fields. She said India and the UK “are highly encouraged” by the intensified collaboration in the area of financial services.
“The UK expressed willingness to further extend its footprint in the GIFT City IFSC and foster a robust fintech partnership,” she said at the 12th India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue in New Delhi on September 11.
Also, India will explore the possibility of direct listing of Indian companies at the London Stock Exchange (LSE), as per the joint statement issued following the conclusion of the dialogue.
“We are particularly pleased to have made a big step forward with the first confirmation by India that it will explore the London Stock Exchange as an international destination for the direct listing of Indian companies,” UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said.
Hunt, who addressed the press alongside Sitharaman, said “there is a new pensions and insurance partnerships”, the establishment of knowledge and expertise sharing mechanism, and launch of the new UK-India Infrastructure Financing Bridge.
Hunt stressed that the two countries are moving towards the inking of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that would further cement their bilateral trade ties.
The statement comes two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart Rishi Sunak, in their bilateral meeting at sidelines of the G20 summit, agreed to “work at pace” towards signing the much-anticipated FTA.UK’s minister said that G20 was a remarkable summit and India has a clear road map to become a developed nation by 2047.
The meeting between the two leaders was held at the Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan, the venue of the Summit.
Talks between the two leaders followed their meeting held on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in May this year in which they had discussed the India-UK free trade agreement, innovation, and science along with ways to strengthen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.
The two countries are negotiating a Free Trade Agreement, talks for which had begun in 2022. The 12th round of negotiations for the UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) took place from August 8 to 31 this year.
(With agency inputs)
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