18/99
28 January 1999
PROMOTING UK - INDIA BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL LINKS
Economic Secretary Patricia Hewitt will visit India next week to promote business and financial links between the UK and India, and to discuss international financial developments. Accompanied by a team of UK business people, she will meet government representatives and leading figures from the business and financial community.
Looking forward to her visit, Ms Hewitt said :
"The economic, cultural and political connections between Britain and India go back hundreds of years. Today we are building a new partnership, made even closer by the increasingly successful Indian communities in Britain, which contribute so much to this country's vibrant, multi-cultural society while retaining their ties of family, religion and trade with India.
"As a Member of Parliament in Leicester - where half of our young people are from the Asian and Afro-Caribbean communities - I am particularly pleased to play a role in developing ever closer ties between our Governments and our community, financial and business leaders.
"My visit to India will enable me to see first hand how businesses at the other end of this impressive global trading link are developing and thriving, particularly in financial services. I hope that, in joining Government and business representatives from the UK and India together in a constructive debate, I will help take this vital business agenda forward." Speaking to the Confederation of Indian Business in New Delhi, Ms Hewitt will highlight the agenda for international financial reform that the UK government is pursuing with its international partners, and stress the importance of continued economic and financial reform at both a national and international level:
"Today's global economy brings us great opportunities but also great challenges. No one country can be insulated from events in the rest of the world. National policy makers must set clear long-term policy objectives that build confidence and credibility."
At a seminar on "London and the euro", hosted by the British High Commission and the Indo-British Business Committee in Mumbai, Ms Hewitt will set out UK policy on the single currency and highlight the City of London's continuing position as a major international financial centre:
"The City of London is a top world financial centre and remains the best place in the European time zone for doing business in euros. I am sure businesses in India and elsewhere in Asia recognise this, and will carrying on using the superb services it provides to our continuing mutual benefit."
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The Economic Secretary will visit Delhi and Mumbai between 1 and 5 February 1999. Accompanying her will be a team of business people from the City of London, including representatives from the banking and insurance sectors, and from the London Stock Exchange.
2. The seminar in Mumbai on "London and the euro" will be hosted by the British High Commission and the Indo-British Business Committee Bombay Chambers of Commerce. Other participants will include the Bank of England, the Corporation of London, and the London Stock Exchange.
3. Press enquiries about Ms Hewitt's visit should be addressed to Charles Keseru in the Treasury press office on 0171 270 5188.
4. If you have access to the internet, you can find this press release and material on other Treasury issues on this site.