The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Alan Yarrow, will visit India this week (6 -10 December) as part of the UK’s efforts to boost economic ties between the two countries.

Leading his first business delegation abroad, the Lord Mayor will take a strong number of financial and professional services firms to the political and financial centres of New Delhi and Mumbai.

There he will be meeting with government ministers and senior industry representatives, underlining the strength of the UK’s financial and professional services industry and how the City can contribute to India’s economic growth. This will build on existing areas of engagement between the two countries, including the recently launched India-UK Financial Partnership which was agreed earlier this year by the two countries.

Speaking ahead of his visit, Lord Mayor Yarrow said:

“Since coming to power Prime Minister Modi has set out an ambitious and visionary economic agenda. My visit will help show that firms based in London and across the UK stand ready and willing to support these changes and that as a nation we are keen to do more business with India.

“While we already have a long and established trade relationship, our continued success depends on building closer economic ties with high growth markets across the globe. India remains central to that success and in helping build a stronger, more sustainable British economy.”

As part of the visit he will look to encourage the Indian authorities to progress financial services reforms and increase international engagement. In addition, he will emphasise the role that international participants can play in investment ventures and supporting infrastructure projects across the country.

During the programme the Lord Mayor will:

• 6 December - Address the Economic Times Now Economic Conclave (New Delhi).
• 8 December – Give an address at a Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment conference - Investor Education: Recognising the links between India and London (New Delhi).
• 9 December – Attend the inauguration of the UK-India Business Council Business Centre and give a speech at an Oxford India Business Summit (Mumbai).
• 10 December – Meet with students at the HR College of Commerce and Economics (Mumbai).

ENDS

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Signs of the UK’s strong economic relationship with India:

• A growing trade relationship – up from £11 billion in 2009 to £16.4 billion in 2013.
• No country in the G20 invests more in India than the UK.
• British banks HSBC and Standard Chartered are two of the leading foreign banks in India .
• There are more Indian banks in the UK than any other market.
• Six UK insurers having joint ventures with Indian partners.
• More than 50 per cent of Indian investment into Europe going to the UK and 700 out of the 1,200 Indian firms in Europe operating from the UK.
• In 2013, the UK attracted 74 projects from India generating 4,482 jobs.

About the Lord Mayor of the City of London:

The Lord Mayor is head of the Square Mile’s City of London authority for one year and the position is unpaid and apolitical. It is an exceptionally demanding role. The Lord Mayor spends some 90 days abroad and addresses some 10,000 people face-to-face each month (making around 800 speeches a year). The Lord Mayor represents City businesses and helps the City Corporation advise the Government of the day on what is needed to help the financial services sector to function well. The Lord Mayor frequently travels to represent the City; and travels overseas with the status of a Cabinet Minister. On average, the Lord Mayor will meet one head of state a month and will meet a prime minister or finance minister each week to discuss financial services, often in conjunction with senior City business representatives. The Lord Mayor, who is unpaid, lives in the Mansion House for the Mayoral year.

The City of London has an active programme of engagement with India, including through its representative office in Mumbai and through advice and guidance from the City of London Advisory Council for India, made up of Indian financial services experts. The aim of the City of London’s work is to promote a genuinely two-way exchange of trade and investment in financial and professional services between the UK and India and to facilitate engagement between policymakers and industry representatives from both countries.