Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) yesterday welcomed a government delegation from India led by the Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha.
Looking to acquire DIFC's best practices in creating a successful financial hub with world-class infrastructure, the delegation was hosted by His Excellency Essa Kazim, Governor of Dubai International Financial Centre. HE Jayant Sinha was accompanied by Anurag Bhushan, Consul-General of India and T P Seetharam, the Indian Ambassador, among others. In addition, representatives from DIFC Authority, Dubai Financial Services Authority and DIFC Courts, as well as several leading Indian banks domiciled in the financial hub were also present to greet the delegation, which include Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India and HDFC Bank.
As part of the knowledge sharing session, His Excellency Kazim provided an overview of DIFC's excellence in aligning corporate strategies to ensure seamless expansion across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. Commending the excellent financial relations shared by India and the UAE, he called for the continued exchange of expertise and intelligence on best financial and legal practices endorsed by the two countries.
The delegation toured the Dubai International Financial Centre premises with special emphasis on DIFC Courts to gain an insight into the legal systems and international standards adopted by the world-renowned financial hub.
Commenting on his visit, Jatyant Sinha, Minister of State for Finance, Government of India said: "I am happy to visit DIFC which is a successful model of an International Financial Centre. I am indeed grateful for the meeting and the generous hospitality of Governor, HE Essa Kazim."
"In India, we are currently working on creating India's first smart city- which is also an International Financial Centre- GIFT (Gujarat International Financial and Tech city). I was happy to share my thoughts with DIFC officials regarding this new project and also understood the basic structure of DIFC and key components. We look forward to active cooperation from our DIFC counterparts to help us make GIFT a success," Sinha added.
His Excellency Essa Kazim said: "We are extremely pleased to host the Indian delegation. It is indeed an honour to share our expertise with the Indian government and contribute to the country's efforts in countering complex financial challenges. Today's engagement presented us with an opportunity to establish greater synergies and share best practices for the wider benefit of the communities in both countries."
He added: "The UAE and India share a mutual vision of working towards sustainable economic growth. Over the past 10 years, DIFC has recorded phenomenal progress and the contribution of Indian companies to this journey has indeed been noteworthy."
