Finance Minister P Chidambaram's reform push to revive Indian economy and restore investor confidence was today lauded by British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, who said he has done a great job.
"When it comes to India, I think Mr Chidambaram has done a great job at telling and showing the world that India is open for business," Osborne told select Indian journalists after his meeting with the Finance Minister.
Giving a resounding thumbs up to India's reform initiatives, Osborne said: "I think people had some questions a year or two ago but Mr Chidambaram has settled those doubts and the reforms he has proposed - the retail reforms, pension bill, among others - are a real sign of India's commitment to wanting to trade with the world. I think he has single handedly made a huge contribution and we are honoured that we are able to host him today".
Since taking office last July, Finance Minister P Chidambaram has championed reforms and hit the road to woo investors in Asia, Europe and North America.
Chidambaram donned a hard hat during a visit to a new Crossrail station project in east London. He was shown around the upcoming mega high-frequency railway project by Osborne, who gave a resounding thumbs up to India's reform initiatives.
The Indian Finance Minister is on a three-nation tour to UK, France and Qatar to sell India's growth story and attract foreign investments.
The meeting of the two finance ministers followed Chidambaram's closed-door meetings with potential British investors into India.
Asked about the progress on the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the Chancellor said: "We have spoken about the India-EU FTA and we will be speaking about it further. I think the FTA will be a real sign that India wants to engage with the rest of the world and that Europe, which has had its own very severe economic problems, is undertaking the reforms necessary."
Osborne said Britain is probably the strongest champion in Europe of the India-EU FTA. "I hope and I am reasonably optimistic we can conclude it this year," he added.
