Connect Us
Mar 04, 2024
Ladies and gentlemen.
Namaste.
A very good evening to you all, I am delighted to join you at the Delhi Gymkhana Club.
Here in India's capital, I am reminded of the words of Martin Luther King – 'To other countries I may go as a tourist, but to India I come as a pilgrim'
Now we are living through what Mr. Dinesh Dhamija, the founder of Ebookers, describes in his new book as 'the Indian century', which 'will provide the opportunity of a lifetime for a new generation of entrepreneurs'.
Thank you very much to the Institute of Directors, India, for very generously hosting us tonight and organising this wonderful event.
Connect to prosper
I am Professor Michael Mainelli, the 695 Lord Mayor of the City of London. Which means I am the elected head of the world's oldest workers and residents' cooperative, the City of London Corporation – the governing body of the Square Mile.
And that I am an international ambassador for the UK financial and professional services sector, for whom the City of London is home, which is why I am here in India, a key partner for us.
Thank you very much to the Institute of Directors, India, for very generously hosting us tonight and organising this wonderful event.
Mark Twain wrote, "India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of tradition, the one land that all men desire to see, and having seen once, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for all the shows of all the rest of the globe combined.”
But India is not only a mother of history and tradition, it is a mother of innovation.
Whether it is artificial intelligence or space technology or vaccines, you will find both Indian and UK scientists at the frontiers of human progress. The theme of my time in office is 'Connect to Prosper' – celebrating the knowledge miles of our Square Mile, the world's coffee house – using the power of our international connections to address global challenges. The City of London's connections with India are vital for our success as a global financial centre, and for the life of our knowledge miles.
Economic links
Financial services are at the very heart of the close, and deepening, economic relationship between the UK and India. This relationship is underpinned by a political commitment from both our Prime Ministers, who are committed to an ambitious roadmap for enhancing our trade and investment through to 2030.
The volume of trade between our two countries continues to grow, with almost £30billion of bilateral trade in 2022. The UK is the sixth largest investor in India, whilst India stands as the second largest investor in the UK with its investments directly supporting 95,000 British jobs. Exports of UK financial services to India have been rising steadily in recent years, from £170 million in 2015 to over £340 million last year – and we know there is the opportunity to go much further.
Knowledge mile links
These economic links are of course underpinned by a 'living bridge' of people, language, and culture, and they are enhanced by increasing academic, scientific and technological cooperation. Our scientists and experts are collaborating on world leading initiatives in vaccines, energy security and climate change. On this visit, I look forward to meeting the scientists and technologists who are at the forefront of global innovation here in India. We will be enhancing our connections and finding further opportunities for collaboration between industries in India and the UK.
In the vital field of climate change, where science and finance meet, we will be sharing our experiences in the regulation of sustainable finance including building international standards and regulations for capital markets, asset management, investment protection, advisory and audit supervision. We will also be meeting Indian regulators to discuss how we can do even more business together, and support financial innovation in each other's economies – including industries such as financial technology.
The UK and India are the world's second and third largest fintech centres, behind only the US, with India now having the highest fintech adoption rate in the world. We will also be talking to UK investors in India and Indian investors in the UK.
Across all these areas, we see the City of London as a partner for India's growth and transition agenda. This was underlined just last week by the UK-India Infrastructure Financing Bridge project, mobilising international private sector investment into Indian sustainable infrastructure. It was fantastic to see the first steering committee meeting held in the City of London last week, hosted by our Policy Chairman, Chris Hayward. Alongside this, the City of London Corporation also backs the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative and the India-UK Financial Partnership.
Whatever the political developments, and whatever the speed of our free trade agreement negotiations, the direction is clear – India and the UK will remain crucial economic, scientific, and cultural partners to each other.
We have a mega election year in both India and the UK, as well as the US and many other countries. I feel like I am one of the few people not up for re-election, as my term is fixed at twelve months! But whatever the political developments, and whatever the speed of our free trade agreement negotiations, the direction is clear – India and the UK will remain crucial economic, scientific, and cultural partners to each other.
In the rest of our visit, we look forward to exploring and boosting our partnerships in commerce and in science. With an emphasis on the knowledge part of the knowledge economy, where the City of London is a hub, and both India and the UK are pioneers. So we can link the knowledge miles of India with the knowledge miles of London.
Conclusion
Arundhati Roy – who was awarded the Booker Prize in 1997 in the City of London, once wrote, “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”
Working together, it is for us to breathe new life into that new world, building on the advantages afforded to us by our ties, and leaving a cleaner, greener, more connected and more prosperous world for those who come after us, which is what the partnership between the UK and India can help to achieve.
Dhanyawad.
Thank you.
Owned by: Institute of Directors, India
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Institute of Directors (IOD) is an apex national association of Corporate Directors under the India's 'Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860'. Currently it is associated with over 30,000 senior executives from Govt, PSU and Private organizations of India and abroad.
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