Jaitley, Osborne announce launch of India-UK Financial Partnership

India and the United Kingdom today announced the launch of the UK-India Financial Partnership (UIFP), a partnership to strengthen links between the financial services industries of both countries.

India's finance minister Arun Jaitley and UK's chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne announced the launch of the UIFP at the seventh UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue held in New Delhi on 8 July 2014.

The two ministers welcomed the deepening of financial services links between the two countries and said the partnership will strengthen links between the existing partnership among financial services industries of both countries and deepen cooperation between London and Mumbai - two of the World's leading financial centres.

The ministers said industry leaders will direct the partnership, with Uday Kotak, executive vice chairman and managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, representing the Indian financial services industry, and Sir Gerry Grimstone, chairman of Standard Life and The City, UK, representing the UK.

The partnership will initially focus on collaboration to develop the corporate bond market, mutual sharing of expertise on banking regulation and capitalisation, enhancing financial training and qualification, financial inclusion and developing programme around the opportunities to improve cross border provision of financial and insurance services.

Both the industry leaders will convene working groups of professionals to examine key areas of common interest and will report the progress and make recommendations to the Indian finance minister and the UK's chancellor of the exchequer ahead of the next UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue in 2015.