Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held a series of bilateral meetings with her counterparts from the UK, Switzerland and Japan in Bangkok and discussed ways to deepen financial and economic cooperation.
In her meeting with UK Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey on the sidelines of the World Bank-IMF annual meetings, Sitharaman discussed the successful conclusion of the fourth India-UK Financial Markets Dialogue, fintech meetings and associated India-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP) meetings, building on the outcomes of the previous Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD).
Both sides agreed to hold the next EFD in December 2026, the finance ministry said in a post on X.
Sitharaman also reaffirmed India’s commitment to working closely with the UK on shared priorities and ensuring a constructive and inclusive G20 process.
In a separate meeting with Swiss Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Finance Karin Keller-Sutter, the two sides discussed the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) and the early conclusion of a mutually beneficial India-Switzerland Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT).
Sitharaman highlighted India’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals, supported by fiscal discipline, robust domestic demand and infrastructure modernisation, as offering significant opportunities for Swiss investors. The two sides also explored investment opportunities through the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and GIFT City.
Cooperation in cross-border digital payments, FinTech, regulatory innovation and AI in financial services also featured in the discussions, the ministry said in another post.
During her meeting with Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama, Sitharaman reviewed the India-Japan Strategic Global Partnership and welcomed Japan’s commitment to facilitate JPY 10 trillion in private investment into India.
She handed over a written invitation for a visit by the Japanese side to India in 2027 to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations through high-level engagements.
“FM Smt. @nsitharaman highlighted that a huge chunk of the India-Japan Fund corpus has been deployed in clean energy, electric mobility, critical minerals and resilient supply chains.
She also welcomed the Development Bank of Japan’s commitment to @NIIFIndia’s private market fund, and noted the scope for further co-investment in manufacturing and infrastructure,” a separate post said.
She invited Japanese institutions to participate in India’s growing long-term savings pool, including through green infrastructure and environmental, social and governance-linked pension products. She also sought Japan’s expertise in pension sustainability, annuity design and long-term care financing to support India’s emerging silver economy.
The two ministers discussed cooperation between the Reserve Bank of India and the Bank of Japan, including a formal fintech cooperation framework, central bank digital currency use cases and sharing India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) experience as Japan modernises its Zengin payment system in 2027.
Cybersecurity cooperation and the role of AI in financial services also featured in the discussions.
Sitharaman further invited Japanese banks, insurers, reinsurers, asset managers and universities to establish operations at GIFT City’s International Financial Services Centre (GIFT IFSC).
Both sides noted the potential to further deepen economic and financial cooperation between India and Japan.
Sitharaman is on an official visit to Bangkok till October 18 to attend the World Bank-IMF annual meetings and the G20 and G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meetings.