The inaugural meeting of the UK-India Financial Markets Dialogue (FMD) took place virtually on Thursday to deepen bilateral ties in the financial sector, the British High Commission (BHC) said on Thursday.
The Dialogue saw government-to-government discussions to strengthen cooperation on four key themes: Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City; banking and payments; insurance, and; capital markets. It was led by senior officials from the UK Treasury and the Indian Ministry of Finance, with participation from independent British and Indian regulatory agencies, BHC said.
The creation of the Financial Markets Dialogue to strengthen financial services cooperation and address regulatory barriers for UK and Indian firms was agreed at the tenth Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) between the UK and India by Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last year.
Bilateral trade between the UK and India stood at over £18bn in 2020, with India accounting for the UK's second-largest source of investment in terms of the number of projects. British and Indian investments support nearly half a million jobs in each other's economies.
"In May this year, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced their ambition to double the value of UK-India trade over the next decade as well as a shared intent to begin work towards negotiations on a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA)," BHC said.
Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India, said: "The 2030 Roadmap agreed by Prime Ministers Modi and Johnson aims for a transformation of the UK-India relationship, especially as we look to build back better from Covid-19. The first Financial Markets Dialogue held today will strengthen links on financial services and create new opportunities for UK and Indian businesses. I'm pleased to see the strong progress we have already made ahead of the upcoming Economic and Financial Dialogue between our finance ministers."
( With inputs from ANI )
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