View: India-UK bilateral trade, investment can boost prosperity in both nations
Sitharaman and I are coming together today for an Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD), the 12th meeting of its kind. Since 2007, our predecessors have been using these unique opportunities to make key decisions that will advance bilateral trade, investment and collaboration between the British and Indian economies. Trade between our two countries has more than doubled in this time.
As ever, there’s a lot to discuss — from infrastructure to pensions and to reaching climate and sustainability ambitions.
Today’s meeting will be the first held face-to-face in six years.
Our two great nations have achieved important things together. We delivered a Covid-19 vaccine, researched at Oxford University with British government financial support, developed by AstraZeneca and manufactured at scale by India’s Serum Institute. In July, the Tata Group announced a new multibillion-pound electric car battery factory to be built in Britain, one of the largest-ever investments in the British automotive sector and creating up to 4,000 new direct jobs as well as thousands more in the wider supply chain.
Total trade between Britain and India was worth 36.6 billion pound (Rs 3.79 lakh crore) in the last financial year, up over 34% year on year.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many more opportunities to boost prosperity in both our nations. As I travel the world in my job — including to Bengaluru to attend the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in February this year — I’m proud to represent Britain and the opportunity it presents abroad.
We’re on sure footing.
