During the most recent meeting of the India-UK Financial Markets Dialogue, held late on Thursday, India and the United Kingdom (UK) agreed to expand financial services cooperation between the two countries. Financial cooperation is one of the main pillars of the 2030 Roadmap established by the two Prime Ministers at their recent meeting, and the India-UK Financial Market Dialogue is one of the important aspects of this Financial Cooperation. Both parties agreed that there is a substantial opportunity for increased financial services collaboration between India and the UK as two service-driven economies. They also agreed to maintain bilateral engagement on these issues in the coming months, in the run-up to the next EFD and the start of discussions for a potential India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), both of which are expected later this year," according to a joint statement published on Friday.
To strengthen bilateral ties in the financial sector, the financial market discussion was created during the 10th Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) in October 2020. During the discussion, four issues were discussed: India's main international financial centre, GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) City; banking and payments; insurance; and capital markets. Following a government-to-government discussion of these problems, business sector partners were asked to participate in the discussions. The Capital Markets Working Group of the City of London Corporation presented their work on the Indian corporate bond market, and the India-UK Financial Partnership presented their suggestions on the UK-India financial services partnership, namely on the development of GIFT City as a major global services hub.
Participants shared information on their different banking and payments ecosystems, with the goal of increasing cross-border engagement in this area. “The Bank of England outlined its cyber resilience initiatives. "Both parties recognised the critical role the banking sector played in preserving stability throughout the Covid-19 epidemic," the joint statement added. Both sides welcomed representatives of the India-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP), highlighting substantial progress in policy formulation since the last EFD, notably the partnership's efforts to promote greater connections between GIFT City and the UK financial services ecosystem. The India-UK Capital Markets working group of the City of London Corporation delivered its suggestions from its recently released report on ‘Unleashing the Potential of the Indian Debt Capital Markets.' The research focuses on improving the Indian debt capital markets environment, as well as making it simpler for Indian firms to obtain money on a global scale - all in order to support India's development potential, infrastructure needs, and sustainable energy capability. Reforms to primary issuances, secondary markets, taxation regulations, market ecology, and ESG (Environmental, social, and corporate governance) are among the proposals, according to the release.
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