India, UK discuss ways to strengthen mutual cooperation

U.K. Chancellor of Exchequer George Osborne and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley met for the Seventh Round of The UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue and discussed ways to strengthen mutual cooperation and further boost trade and investment between the two countries.

In the joint statement issued here, both leaders said they were encouraged by signs of recovery in the global economy in recent months.

They noted that in UK, the economy is growing, employment is strong and the deficit is falling, but risks remain and the government will continue to deliver its economic plan. After stabilizing at a low level of around 5 percent, growth in the Indian economy is expected to pick up in the coming quarters supported by improved implementation and structural reforms.

They agreed that UK and India share a common commitment to take the necessary steps to support growth and jobs, ensure financial stability and restore fiscal sustainability.

The two leaders vowed to work closely together and reiterated their committment to multilateral co-operation through the G20 and International Financial Institutions.

They further asserted that India and UK are taking determined actions to strengthen our respective economies and are working to improve further the business environment.

Both sides welcomed this year's focused approach in the G20 to achieving strong, sustainable and balanced growth through the development of comprehensive growth strategies that will be presented at the Brisbane Summit.

UK and India remain committed to the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project and will continue to work together through the G20 and OECD to reform the international tax rules to ensure that they are fair and consistent.

UK and India reiterated their determination to lead on tackling tax evasion, noting that the two countries would begin exchanging tax information on an automatic basis from 2017 with each other and with a large number of jurisdictions as part of their commitment to early adoption of the new Global Standard.

Both countries called on other G20 countries and international financial centres that have not yet done so to match their commitments to early adoption.

They also reiterated their commitment to preventing the misuse of legal persons and legal arrangements, and will continue to support the G20 leading by example, through effective implementation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards on beneficial ownership.