Chancellor Philip Hammond has reached India, to discuss the prospects of developing a new trade relationship with the UK, as Britain prepares to exit the EU. He flew to New Delhi for talks with Indian counterpart Arun Jaitley, days after Prime Minister Theresa May triggered the formal start of the Brexit process.
The delegation accompanying the Chancellor includes Mark Carney, the Bank of England Governor, and ministers including Baroness Neville-Rolfe, the Commercial Secretary, and Mark Garnier, Minister for International Trade.
The Treasury said business figures on the trade mission include some of the UK’s most experienced leaders in financial services and FinTech–financial technology- entrepreneurs.
The UK is the world’s largest exporter of financial services and the leading centre for FinTech.
Hammond seemed to have played down the risks of a so-called "hard Brexit", in which Britain would lose access to the markets of the bloc's other 27 nations if the two sides cannot reach a consensus deal within a two-year deadline.
After a joint economic and financial dialogue, at a press conference, Hammond said, “We have made the decision that we will not be part of the structure of the European Union, but we've also made very clear that we want to negotiate the maximum possible open trade relationship with the European Union.
"We hope to be able to negotiate a deep and special relationship with the European Union that will allow us to go on trading and investing in each other's economy, but at the same time allow us to rebuild our relationships with our partners and allies around the world."
The Reuters reported that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, struck a positive note by saying, "The United Kingdom, post-Brexit, is looking at a different level of relationship with India. And there's a huge aspiration in India itself also to add to and improve on this relationship."
No formal negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement would be possible until Britain has formally left the European Union, but Hammond said the two sides would have a "deep discussion" in the meantime.
In a joint statement, the ministers highlighted a pact for each country to put £120 million ($149 million) into a joint fund under India's National Investment and Infrastructure Fund to invest in energy and renewables.
They also discussed efforts to make India's rupee currency more freely tradeable on international markets, and promote so-called 'masala' bonds, by which Indian firms borrow in their own currency from investors in the City of London.
The National Highways Authority of India, the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency and the Indian railway Finance Corporation all plan to issue masala bonds in the coming months, they added.
In a reference to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” agenda, Mr Hammond reportedly said: “The UK is perfectly placed to be India’s financial partner of choice, helping it to raise the finance needed for its continued rapid growth and my message will be ‘Make in India, finance in the UK’.
“Our innovative markets have helped support the development of whole new product classes such as masala bonds that will support India’s transformation.”
