Alderman Alastair King, the 696th Lord Mayor of London, is in Mumbai this week for his first visit to India in his capacity as the global ambassador for the financial hub of the City of London. The former lawyer-businessman has chosen “Growth Unleashed” as the theme of his mayoral term and is keen to build momentum ahead of a visit by UK Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds later this month to formally relaunch the UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
The Lord Mayor said: “I think the timing is very good. There was a bit of a lull in relation to pushing forward for the Free Trade Agreement, and I'm very pleased to see that Minister Reynolds is off to India as well.”
His visit to Mumbai focuses on pitching UK Plc to global markets to increase foreign direct investment. The Lord Mayor is keen to see Indian companies invest in UK growth markets as well as use its world-leading financial services. During his week-long India tour, the Lord Mayor will meet British government trade officials as well as key Indian banks and regulators.
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He noted: “Looking particularly at things like investment into infrastructure, financial services and legal services – all these are remarkable areas of growth.
“Anything in this climate that frees up capital flows between the United Kingdom and in India presents wonderful opportunities for us.”
Meetings with financial services firms will also provide an opportunity to discuss what these sectors want to see from the FTA talks. Financial services is a key growth sector for both the UK and Indian economies and mechanisms to smooth trade are seen as invaluable, including through business mobility and investment protection.
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The City of London Corporation is the governing body of the financial hub of the UK capital, known as the Square Mile, and has a representative office in Mumbai to enable long-term relationship building with financial sector stakeholders across India.
The aims of its India programme include:
To highlight the UK’s vibrant and thriving financial and professional services sector
To increase trade and investment volume between the UK and India
To highlight the UK as a leading international financial and centre
*Info: City of London Corporation
