NEW DELHI: Banking, insurance and capital market remain key focus areas during the the first India-UK Financial Markets Dialogue on Thursday, as both the country prepares to close the Foreign Trade Agreement by end of this year.
The first meeting of the dialogue began with a government-to-government discussion focused on four themes: GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) City, banking and payments, insurance, and capital markets, Finance Ministry said in a statement.
Both sides agreed to engage on these areas in coming months, in the run-up to the next Economic and Financial Dialogue, expected to take place later this year India-UK trade has more than doubled since the first EFD in 2007, with bilateral investment supporting over half a million jobs across both countries. India-UK economic ties are important as together, they are two of the world’s top seven economies with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of over $5 trillion.
The first dialogue on Thursday was led by senior officials from the India’s finance ministry and HM Treasury with participation from Indian and UK independent regulatory agencies. Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), International Financial Services Centre Authority, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, the Bank of England, and the Financial Conduct Authority were the participating agencies at the event.
A report presented in the meeting focused on enhancing the Indian debt capital markets ecosystem, as well as making it easier for Indian companies to raise capital internationally – to support India’s growth potential, infrastructure needs and enhancing the country’s sustainable energy capacity.