India hopes to turn GIFT City into a global services hub.
The talks were led by finance ministry officials from India and treasury officials from the UK. Regulatory agencies, including the RBI, Sebi, International Financial Services Centres Authority, IRDAI, Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority, also participated in the discussions
India and the UK have decided to further deepen financial services cooperation during the latest round of talks at the India-UK Financial Markets Dialogue, which was held virtually on Thursday.
“Financial cooperation is one of the key pillars of the 2030 roadmap adopted by the two countries during the recent meeting of the two prime ministers, and the India-UK Financial Markets Dialogue is one of the key elements of this cooperation. As two services-driven economies, both sides agreed there is significant scope for strengthened financial services cooperation. They also concurred to continue to engage bilaterally on these areas in the coming months, in the run-up to the next EFD and the beginning of negotiations for an FTA, both expected to take place later this year,” according to a joint statement released on Friday.
The dialogue was established at the 10th Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) last October to boost bilateral ties in the financial sector.
The talks were led by finance ministry officials from India and treasury officials from the UK. Regulatory agencies, including the Reserve Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, International Financial Services Centres Authority, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority, also participated in the discussions.
The primary focus was on four topics: India’s flagship international financial centre, Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City); banking and payments; insurance; and the capital markets.
Following the government-to-government discussion, the private sector was invited.
The City of London Corporation’s capital markets working group made a presentation on India’s corporate bond market, and the India-UK Financial Partnership presented its recommendations on boosting cooperation, particularly on developing GIFT City as a global services hub.
The participants also provided updates on the respective banking and payments landscape with a view to increasing cross-border activity. “The Bank of England discussed its work on cyber resilience. Both sides recognized the key role the banking sector has played in maintaining stability during covid,” it said.
Both sides welcomed the leaders of the India-UK Financial Partnership, and the significant progress achieved since the last EFD in policy development, particularly the partnership’s efforts towards promoting greater links between GIFT City and the UK financial services ecosystem.
