New Delhi, Apr 7: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will embark on an official visit to the United Kingdom and Austria from April 8-13, where she is scheduled to attend ministerial-level bilateral meetings, an official statement said on Monday.

The Finance Minister would participate in the 13th Ministerial round of India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue and engage with think tanks, investors, and business leaders in the UK and Austria, according to a Ministry of Finance statement. The 13th round of the India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue (13th EFD) is scheduled to be held in London on April 9.

It would be co-chaired by the Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister and the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer. "The 13th EFD is a significant bilateral platform between the two countries that offers opportunities for candid engagement at Minister level, officer-level, working groups and between the respective regulatory bodies in various aspects of financial collaboration, including investment matters, financial services, financial regulations, UPI interlinkages, taxation matters and illicit financial flows," said the ministry.

The key priorities include cooperation in the IFSC GIFT City, investment, insurance, and pension sectors, FinTech and Digital economy, and mobilising affordable and sustainable climate finance. On the sidelines of the 13th EFD, FM Sitharaman will engage in bilateral meetings with key dignitaries, participate in investor roundtables and other meetings with heads of key financial institutions and companies.

The Minister will deliver the keynote address at the India-UK Investor Roundtable in the presence of chief executive officers (CEOs) of international organisations, including key management personnel from across the UK financial ecosystem covering pension funds, insurance companies, banks, and financial services institutions, among others. Sitharaman, along with UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds, will co-host the roundtable in partnership with the City of London, with top CEOs and senior management of prominent pension funds and asset managers in the UK as participants.

During the Austrian leg of the official visit, the Finance Minister will hold bilateral meetings with senior Austrian government leaders, including Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer and Chancellor Christian Stocker. According to the ministry, Sitharaman and the Austrian Minister for Economy, Energy and Tourism, Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer, will co-chair a session with key Austrian CEOs to apprise them of existing and upcoming opportunities in India for deeper investment collaboration between the two countries.

(IANS)

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