The 11th India-United Kingdom Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD), virtually chaired by Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, was held on Thursday.The Indian delegation included the RBI Governor, the SEBI Chairman, the IFSCA Chairman IFSCA, the Economic Affairs Secretary and other representatives from the Ministry of Finance, as well as the Ministry of External Affairs, and the Indian High Commission in the UK.The UK delegation included Governor of the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority CEO, the Economic Secretary and other representatives from UK Treasury.The dialogue, inter alia, covered discussions on economic cooperation on multilateral issues, including G20 and COP26.Both sides deliberated on furthering of financial services collaboration with special emphasis on Fin-Tech and GIFT City, the annual India-UK Financial Market Dialogue, and measures underway to reform financial markets.
Infrastructure development and promotion of sustainable finance and climate finance were also discussed.Private sector initiatives under the India-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP) and the India-UK Sustainable Finance Working Group, including its progress, were also discussed.The Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) India partnership, which was launched by both sides on the occasion, aims to work with financial institutions, corporates, and existing sustainable finance initiatives to accelerate efforts to mobilise capital into India.Both sides agreed to continue to work together to mobilise finances via multilateral and private means and sharing relevant experience, including of the UK's upcoming sovereign green bond issuance.The 11th Economic and Financial Dialogue concluded with adoption of a Joint Statement by the Finance Minister and the Chancellor of Exchequer, and release of the Joint Statement on the CFLI India partnership.