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Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves
India and United Kingdom on Wednesday indicated to further accelerate the effort for free trade agreement and Bilateral Investment Treaty. They reaffirmed their commitment to continue collaboration in financial services sector, FinTech and Digital economy and between the respective regulatory bodies.
These issues were discussed during the 13th Ministerial meeting of the India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue (13th EFD) held at London. The Indian delegation, led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while UK delegation led by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves. The meeting concluded with adoption of the joint statement.
“Both sides look forward to furthering the bilateral relations between our nations, including continuing negotiations at pace towards a mutually beneficial Free Trade Agreement and Bilateral Investment Treaty,” the statement said. These will build on the strengths of our complementary economies, support our mutual ambitions for growth, and unlock opportunities for businesses and consumers alike.
Financial sector
The statement noted that financial services representing a key opportunity in the economic partnership between both the countries. “Both sides recognise the initiative’s success in deepening financial sector ties between our markets. Both sides welcome and note the recommendations of the report ‘Catalysing bilateral growth: Connecting India and the UK’s equity capital markets’ by the IUKFP (India-UK Financial Partnership) on enhancing capital markets connectivity between India and the UK, including through listings of securities between Indian and UK stock exchanges,” it said. IUKFP has identified new areas of focus for future work and these include Innovation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Financial Services, Green Finance, and Asset Management and Investment.
The statement highlighted the opportunities that overseas equity listings offer to broaden access to global investors and enhance liquidity. It noted the recent regulations allowing direct listing in India’s GIFT City, which will pave the way to allow Indian companies to list in international jurisdictions and noted the feasibility being explored by India for this at the London Stock Exchange. “Both sides note the role that UK bond markets can play in supporting capital-raising for Indian corporates, including through rupee-denominated Masala Bonds, and agree to work together to boost opportunities and create supportive policy framework for expanding this further,” the statement said.
Both the economies look forward to exploring the opportunity for collaboration in pensions and insurance funds, recognising that greater international investment can lower the cost of capital, support domestic pensions and insurance needs, and drive shared economic growth. “The UK welcomes the approval granted to insurance companies in GIFT IFSC to invest overseas and the proposal under consideration to enable pension companies in GIFT IFSC to invest overseas. Both sides look to further opportunities for greater international investment,” the statement said.
Published on April 9, 2025
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