Jaitley Woos British Businesses Keen on Investing in India

London: Ahead of the India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday wooed British businesses keen on investing in India, highlighting initiatives taken by the government to make the country an attractive destination for global investment.

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne hosted Jaitley for dinner on his arrival in London on Sunday. The India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue will be held on Tuesday after which the two ministers are expected to issue a joint statement.

Jaitley began his three-day UK visit with an interaction with a select group of persons of Indian-origin who are associated with India-UK businesses on Sunday.

A breakfast meeting with Goldman Sachs this morning was followed by a luncheon interaction organised by MasterCard with prospective investors.

"The Finance Minister has held a series of meetings with investors and organisations keen on investing in India," an official source said.

Following the meetings, Lord O'Neill, commercial secretary to the UK Treasury at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), will host a reception for Jaitley.

On Tuesday morning, Jaitley will deliver a keynote address at the Investors Summit scheduled at the London Stock Exchange.

The event will be followed by another investors meet, jointly organised by Kotak Mahindra Bank in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Jaitley will then head to 11 Downing Street, the office of the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, to make his official address to the India-UK Financial Partnership.

This will be followed by the eighth round of the India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue after which Jaitley and Osborne will have a joint briefing for the media.

The key topics of discussions between the two leaders are expected to include various tax rationalisation measures and opening-up of different sectors of the economy for FDI (foreign direct investment).

Jaitley is expected to highlight initiatives taken by India over the last few months to make it a more attractive destination for global investment.

The stability of the Indian economy amid global turmoil is also expected to be the central theme as the Finance Minister leaves for Switzerland tomorrow evening to attend the World Economic Forum.