THE City of London Corporation’s policy chair Catherine McGuinness believes that Brexit would in no way hamper the India-UK ties that “continue to blossom”.
“The UK and India already have strong ties. We have been the top G20 investor in India over the last 10 years, and bilateral trade stands at over £20 billion,” said McGuinness in an interview to Indian media.
“I don’t think Brexit can dampen anything in this story.” McGuinness, who was on a two-day visit to India, said the country was “in a really exciting place”, thanks to some of the reform measures initiated by the Modi government, especially the changes in the “insolvency regime”.
India-UK ties could get only stronger with government support from both sides, she said. Work, she elaborated, was already underway “through the ongoing UK-India Joint Trade Review, the only one of its kind the UK has with any other country, which will lay the framework for a future trade partnership”.
She also pointed to the Joint Economic and Trade Committee that was looking at strategic economic ties, and the Economic and Financial Dialogue, focusing on trade and investment relations.
“Add to this,” she said, “the commitment by prime minister Boris Johnson to making India one of his first destinations for an overseas visit following his re-election, and the future looks rosy for us both.”
There was “a lot more certainty” than there was, as both India and UK had governments with strong majorities, she added. “… I am sure there will be a post-Brexit trade deal between India and the UK, but ... these things take time.”
McGuinness said there was scope for enhancing ties in the green financing sector, “looking at opportunities for investors through London to invest in green infrastructure projects here [India]”.
On the issue of immigration, she said the UK would “remain open to international talent”, and calling the increase in work and student visa applications from India “great”.
“We have seen significantly more work visas given to Indians in the last year than any other country. We had more than 50,000 work visas last year. The next highest is the US with around 10,000. That’s really staggering.”
Talking of Brexit’s impact on London as a global financial centre, McGuinness said: “I would send a strong message of reassurance and confidence: We are not just about EUfacing business. There is a whole world besides.”
Scott Bessent