Nirmala Sitharaman Holds Talks With British PM, Chancellor

Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday held talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who received the Finance Minister at her 11 Downing Street office here.

Progress of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations were among the topics on the agenda of the meeting, which came ahead of the 13th UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD).

Sitharaman told PTI ahead of the dialogue that closer cooperation between the financial sectors of the two countries and stronger educational ties to welcome UK universities into India were among the areas of focus for the discussions.

"We will also cover mutual recognition of certain professions, which is important for both the countries, and science and technology where the UK holds some premier research positions and India would like to seek cooperation and collaboration," said Sitharaman.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the EFD is a significant bilateral platform between the two countries encompassing various aspects of financial collaboration, including investment matters, financial services, financial regulations, UPI interlinkages, taxation matters and illicit financial flows.

The key priorities for Wednesday's EFD on the Indian side have been flagged as cooperation in IFSC GIFT City, investment, insurance and pension sectors, fintech and digital economy, and mobilising affordable and sustainable climate finance.

On the UK side, Reeves said in a pre-dialogue statement that global issues and job creation are priorities for the dialogue as the UK seeks to "secure a new trade deal" with India.

"We will be covering the topics of growth and global issues, as well as how we can unleash potential across various sectors and defence to create jobs, investment and trade opportunities, as part of the government's Plan for Change," said the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer.

India and the UK have been negotiating an FTA for over two years, pursued by the Starmer-led Labour government after a hiatus to accommodate the general election cycles in both countries last year. The trade deal is expected to significantly enhance the bilateral trading relationship, worth around GBP 41 billion last year.

During an interaction on India's growth trajectory in London on Tuesday, Sitharaman welcomed the UK government's "great deal of enthusiasm" around the FTA and expressed hope that it will be signed "sooner rather than later".

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