Truss-Jaishankar to announce Strategic Futures Forum
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has announced GBP561.9 million investments as part of a series of tech and infrastructure tie-ups in India to boost both economies and help developing countries grow in a clean and sustainable way.
The Foreign Secretary and External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar also announced a new Strategic Futures Forum, bringing together leading figures from Government, business and academia in both countries to drive closer links in priority areas like tech and security and shape the longer-term, strategic vision for our partnership.
During a two-day trip to Delhi and Mumbai from 22 Oct 2021, Truss outlined agreements to deepen investment ties between the two countries and work together on finance and technical support packages for the developing world, British High Commission in New Delhi said.
The deals included more tech transfer and knowledge sharing with developing countries alongside heavy capital investment, a model that the UK is looking to replicate with partners around the world.
The agreements will help drive forward the Build Back Better World Initiative launched by G7 leaders in June to help meet the huge clean infrastructure need in the developing world.
The Foreign Secretary wants to strengthen the UK’s economic, technology and security links with fast-growing economies and like-minded partners and build “a network of liberty” around the globe.
Closer ties with like-minded democracies such as India are key to that ambition. In May, the UK and India Prime Ministers agreed a new roadmap to strengthen our partnership.
The Foreign Secretary met Dr. Jaishankar and Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav in Delhi and outlined her vision and discuss areas for closer collaboration, and went on to Mumbai, where she visited the UK Carrier Strike Group on its most substantial port visit to date.
During the trip she announced:
A GBP11.5m UK investment in two venture capital funds aimed at supporting India’s transition to cleaner energy. Both funds will return profit to the UK taxpayer and make use of UK expertise.
A US$70m (GBP50.4m) investment by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s investment arm CDC to fund green tech infrastructure projects across India through the joint Green Growth Equity Fund.
GBP500k UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) investment to build a new virtual network of UK and Indian labs working to promote Net Zero targets in key industries including glass, cement, and metals.
Truss wants the UK and India to step-up their partnership in critical areas like technology, investment, security and defence. India is the world’s largest democracy, a tech and economic powerhouse and a vital strategic partner for the UK.
“Closer ties, including in areas like tech and infrastructure, will deliver jobs and growth in both countries, boost developing world economies and help us promote our values on the global stage,” Truss said.
Both the UK and India are known for their tech expertise. Britain has the third largest number of tech ‘unicorns’ in the world, the name given to a start-up which is valued at over US$1 billion. India has the third highest number of tech start-ups in the world.
During her meeting with Yadav on 22 Oct 2021, She underlined the importance of making concrete progress on climate change ahead of the upcoming COP26 Summit and noted that India already leads the world in renewable technology and expressed her hope that they will commit to a more ambitious Nationally Determined Contribution.
On 23 Oct 2021 in Mumbai, Truss addressed the Indian business leaders at a Build Back Better World roundtable to help boost infrastructure in the developing world. #investment #manufacturing #technology #exports /fiinews.com
