Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her UK counterpart, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, wrapped up the 13th Ministerial Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) in London this week with a joint commitment to work together to boost economic growth against the backdrop of US tariff-induced market turmoil.
After a series of high-level meetings, including with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Sitharaman and Reeves held their dialogue at the London Stock Exchange, which concluded in a joint statement marking a significant moment in unlocking opportunities as the two countries look to strengthen economic ties and secure a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT).
Sitharaman said: “I value this dialogue very much because we saw that there was a lot of point-to-point discussion on specific items of interest, both for India and in the UK.”
On the FTA, she added: “There is a great sense of positivity and also eagerness and a dedication to have this conclude sooner rather than later, from both sides. So, we are happy to end today's visit with a sense of hope and possibility.”
The EFD saw the signing of a joint statement unlocking cooperation across a range of business sectors, including defence, financial services, education and development, and strengthened governmental collaboration across growth, economic resilience and international financial issues.
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The total commercial package from this dialogue is made up of new announcements worth £128 million in export deals and investments, as well as recent deals worth £271 million. This includes:
· Paytm, India’s largest digital payment app, announced plans to invest in the UK to accelerate access to affordable digital payments and credit for small businesses.
· Barclays Bank PLC India announced on 18 March a further capital injection of over £210M into its Indian operations, affirming its long-term commitment to India. This capital investment will grow its businesses across the Investment and Private Banking in India.
· HSBC Bank will expand its presence from the current 14 cities to 34 cities in India. This significant expansion will enable the bank to cover approximately 95% of India’s wealth market, reinforcing their commitment to India.
· Standard Chartered Bank announced that it has shifted to larger office premises at GIFT City, reinforcing its long-term commitment to India's premier international financial services hub.
· Mphasis, an Indian tech business, are setting up a quantum centre of excellence in London and exploring an office in Nottingham which will support 100 jobs.
· British International Investment Plc (BII) is committing $10m to the agritech start up, Grow Indigo, to pilot an innovative carbon credit programme to promote regenerative agricultural practices in India.
· WNS, a global digital-led business transformation services company founded in India with a $2.7bn market cap, will expand their London HQ presence with a new office and open a state-of-the-art AI design hub to expand the UK's AI and digital talent pool to drive growth and create jobs.
· Revolut announced that they are gearing up for launch in India later this year, following authorisation this week from Reserve Bank of India.
· UK firm Wise announces plans to open a new office in Hyderabad, India as part of broader mission to transform the trillion-pound international money movement market.
· Prudential’s announcement of launching their first fully owned global services hub in Bengaluru and third joint venture in India establishing a standalone health insurance business.
· British International Investment invest $15m investment in vehicle dedicated to investing in India based on inclusion-focused early-stage companies.
· The UK welcomes India paving the way to allow Indian companies to list internationally and exploring listing at the London Stock Exchange. The India-UK Financial Partnership published its report ‘Catalysing Bilateral Growth: Connecting India and the UK’s Equity Capital Markets report’. The report aims to lay the foundation for advancing capital account connectivity and strengthening confidence in both markets and will be presented following the EFD.
· Coventry University announced that it is set to become the first English university to be granted a licence to open a campus in India, as UK universities are being granted licences to open a campus in India’s new GIFT city. And the London School of Economics announced that Tata Trusts is continuing its enduring partnership with LSE by awarding a Corpus Grant to support scholarships for Indian students at the School.
· Agreement for both sides to continue excellent collaboration as co-chairs of the G20’s Framework Working Group and to work closely together to promote discussion and build consensus around responses to risks to the global macroeconomic outlook.
· New ambitions set for joint investments in green enterprises, tech start-ups and climate adaptation building on the success of the UK-India Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF).
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Reeves said: “In a changing world, it is imperative we go further and faster to kickstart economic growth. We have listened to British businesses, which is why we’re negotiating trade deals with countries across the world, including India, so we can support them and put more money in people’s pockets as part of our Plan for Change.
“Our relationship with India is longstanding and broad and I am delighted with the progress made throughout this dialogue to develop it further.”
