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Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between India and UK The mayor of London said it was in the final stages and while there were some outstanding issues to be resolved, both parties were optimistic that the draft deadline for Diwali would be met.
Vincent Keaveny, the 693rd Mayor, representing the City of London’s global financial centre, has just concluded his visit to India after meeting leading Indian businesses, investors and finance chiefs at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). four-day visit. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
As London’s Ambassador for Financial and Professional Services, the Mayor’s visit aims to strengthen India-UK financial services links and build strong and sustainable two-way capital flows.
“It’s a very good time in India as free trade agreement negotiations enter their final stages,” Kiwiney told PTI.
“PM Modi It has been made clear that he wants to sign a free trade agreement on Diwali. There are some outstanding issues that need to be resolved, but I think both sides are very optimistic that we will get the job done. Regardless of the content of the agreement, this will have a real positive impact on the overall relationship between India and the UK for years to come,” he said.
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His visit comes amid reports that Modi may be planning to visit the UK to sign a free trade agreement around Diwali on October 24. The timetable was set during a visit to India by former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in April, and there has been some speculation over whether changes in British leadership could affect that deadline.
When asked about the outlook, the mayor expressed optimism: “It’s a tight deadline, but people are optimistic.
“Prime Minister Liz Truss is deeply involved in international trade, she was trade minister and focused on trade during her tenure as foreign secretary… We have a prime minister who understands trade issues very well and will be able to bring it to the last stop.”
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Keaveny, who also spoke at the Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai earlier this week, highlighted India’s huge demand for digital services as a sign of growing India-UK exchanges in the space.
“London is the biggest fintech hub in Europe. We can all see that India is becoming the biggest fintech hub in Asia – with the highest fintech adoption rate in the world and the emergence of many unicorns,” he said.
“In addition to talent, we have opportunities to strengthen connections between the UK and Indian fintech ecosystems – including business-to-business connections, and through hubs and accelerators. This is underlined by the fact that the UK-India relationship is at an all-time high The free trade agreement negotiations will pave the way for a significant increase in trade flows between our two countries,” he said.
Regarding his discussions with RBI and SEBI, the Mayor described very “active engagement” in sustainable finance as an area of ”huge opportunity”.
“India’s infrastructure investment needs are very large, in the trillions of dollars. There is an opportunity here that we in the City of London will be keen to support – bringing capital from international markets into projects that require that capital to be invested in infrastructure in India. It’s a huge opportunity,” he said.
However, he also pointed to areas where there is less “exchange of ideas”, such as the ability of Indian companies to list directly on international stock exchanges.
“Proposals to allow this to happen are currently on hold. We continue to advocate for this to happen. I think it would be beneficial for Indian businesses and the Indian business community to tell its story more directly in international markets,” he said.
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