This includes a $1 billion investment from CDC, joint investments by both governments to support innovative green tech solutions
India and the UK on Thursday agreed on a $1.2 billion investment in green projects and renewable energy to boost India’s green growth ambitions at the 11th India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue between India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her British counterpart Rishi Sunak, driving forward the bilateral agenda of an Enhanced Trade Partnership.
Sitharaman and Sunak, who met virtually for the annual summit, signed off the $1.2 billion package of public and private investment in green projects and renewable energy in India.
This includes a $1 billion investment from CDC, the UK’s development finance institution in green projects in India, joint investments by both governments to support companies working on innovative green tech solutions, and a new $200 million private and multilateral investment into the joint Green Growth Equity Fund which invests in Indian renewable energy.
A new Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) India partnership has also been agreed to mobilise private capital into sustainable infrastructure in India, including clean energy like wind and solar power and other green technologies.
The UK and India already have strong ties, and today we’ve made important new agreements to boost our relationship and deliver for both our countries, said Sunak.
Supporting India’s green growth is a shared priority so I’m pleased that we’ve announced a $1.2 billion investment package, and launched the new CFLI India partnership, to boost investment in sustainable projects in India as the UK gears up to host COP26, he said.
With trade negotiations also coming up, our agreement to be ambitious when considering services will create new opportunities in both markets, supporting jobs and investment in the UK and India, he said.
At the Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD), both ministers agreed to be ambitious when considering services in the upcoming UK-India trade negotiations and strengthen the financial market collaboration efforts already underway to finance growth.
The UK also welcomed India’s recent decision to lift the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in the insurance sector from 49 per cent to 74 per cent which will help British firms to take greater ownership of their operations in India.
According to UK government statistics, UK-India bilateral trade stands at around £18 billion in 2020 and supports nearly half-a-million jobs in each other’s economies.
The countries have set a goal to double trade by 2030, including through negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) following an Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) agreed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart Boris Johnson earlier this year.
The joint statement signed at the end of the EFD covers a broad range of areas, including the financial services and opening up new opportunities for UK financial firms and helping more Indian companies access finance in the City of London.
