Finance Minister P. Chidambaram left today on a five-day three nation tour of UK, France and Qatar.
During the first leg of his foreign visit, Chidambaram will arrive in London this evening.
The Finance Minister, who is leading the Indian delegation, will participate in the sixth Ministerial India -UK Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) the next day. Other members of Indian Delegation include Shaktikanta Das, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Anand Sinha, Deputy Governor, RBI, Arvind Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance among others.
The UK delegation will be led by its Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.
During the Ministerial India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue, macro-economic issues, trade and investment related matters, infrastructure financing and financial services and regulations and insurance and pension sector issues will be discussed among others.
Chidambaram will also have a discussion on current financial sector reforms by UK and India Regulatory Bodies. The UK delegation led by Osborne will include Charlie Bean, Deputy Governor, Bank of England, Dr Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Lord Paul Deighton, Commerce Secretary to the Treasury and Shona Riach, Director, International, HM Treasury among others.
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On the sidelines of EFD, a bilateral meeting between Chidambaram and his UK counterpart and Chancellor of Exchequer George Osborne will also be held. During the meeting, both the leaders are likely to discuss about G-20 Clearing Committee on OTC derivatives, priority sector lending, Bangalore-Mumbai economic corridor and visa issues among others.
The Finance Minister will also visit the Crossrail Tunnels along with the Chancellor George Osborne.
Chidambaram will later hold one-to-one meeting with leading UK investors.
During the second lap of his foreign visit, the Finance Minister will arrive in Paris on May 17. During his stay in Paris, Chidambaram will also have a meeting with leading investors. He will also hold discussions with Secretary General, OECD Angel Gurria during his one-day stay in Paris.
In the last leg of his foreign visit, Chidambaram will arrive in Doha, Qatar on May 18.
At Doha, the Finance Minister will hold discussions with Yousef Hussan Kamal, Minister of Economic and Finance, Qatar next day on May 19. Chidambaram will also meet CEO of Qatar Investment Authority and CEO of Qatari Business Association among others.
During his stay in Doha, the Finance Minister will also have an Investors Meet, which will include CEOs of leading Qatar companies and banks, CEOs of Pension Funds and top investors before his departure for back home on May 19.
Chidambaram will arrive in Delhi on the morning of May 20.