The UK is all set to partner with India to develop India’s fledgling international financial services centre GIFT City - Gujarat International Finance Tec-City.
As a part of this deal, the UK has agreed to set up a new Fund of Funds to be managed by the State Bank of India group in order to route UK's future capital investments into India.
UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman have also signed off on a new infrastructure finance and policy partnership to help India execute its National Infrastructure Pipeline that predicts investments worth $1.4 trillion, at the tenth Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD).
UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak said, “As we seek to recover from the profound impact of Covid-19, we can only do so in partnership and cooperation. Our two countries can work together to be a force for good, building back better, tackling climate change and creating jobs and prosperity. That’s been our focus today.”
“We have been able to announce a series of ambitious initiatives across trade, infrastructure, sustainable finance and research. This includes a new strategic partnership to develop the GIFT city, a tremendous opportunity to drive international capital flow from the city of London to India,” he added.
India is now the second-largest project investment source for the UK.
A joint statement signed by Sitharaman and Sunak read: “We establish a new UK-India strategic collaboration to accelerate the development of GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City), India’s first International Financial Services Centre, and promote greater links between GIFT City and the UK financial services ecosystem by bringing together both governments, regulators and business to share experiences and expertise.”
