By: Philip Hammond

As we begin preparing to set our own trade terms for the first time in 40 years, Britain is ready to breathe new life into its relationship with the rest of the world. In New Delhi yesterday, I spoke to finance minister Arun Jaitley about the triggering of Article 50 last week, which has set in motion the countdown for a revitalised Britain on the world stage, one that is ready to strengthen its relationships with its traditional friends and allies.

It will be a Global Britain that is confident, ambitious and tolerant, and a Britain that can make its own decisions, build new economic partnerships and work on a one-to-one basis with nations like India. The rhetoric of last year’s Brexit referendum campaign was not a rhetoric of isolation. Quite the opposite: it was an insistence of bigger and better engagement with the world, not just with our European friends and neighbours, but with everyone beyond those borders too.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has emphasised constantly over the last nine months our continued support for free trade, open markets and an expanded engagement with the outside world. Nowhere is this more relevant than India, whose economic transformation has been nothing short of remarkable. This year, India is forecast to grow at 7.2% and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast it to be the fastestgrowing economy in the G20 next year as well, a credit to the reforms that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Jaitley have put in place.

As well as our annual talks on economic and financial cooperation, I will also be laying the groundwork for the time, not too far distant, when we will be able to negotiate our own trade agreements. Our bilateral relationship today is strong and broad-based, and it is underpinned by what Modi has called a ‘Living Bridge’ of 1.5 million people of Indian origin who live in Britain. And last year, around 480,000 Indians came to Britain to visit, study or do business, with Indian nationals accounting for nearly 60% of all skilled work visas granted by Britain.

We are major investors in each other’s economies. Over the last decade, no G20 country has invested more in India than Britain. We are, in fact, the largest job creator via foreign direct investment (FDI) in India. From Marks & Spencer, now one of the largest international retailers in India with a presence across 18 cities with 49 stores, to BP, the largest international oil company in India employing around 8,500 people, British companies have played a strong job creation role in the growing Indian economy.

Between 2000 and 2016, British investment in India has helped create 371,000 jobs. The total number of people employed by British companies in India currently stands at 788,000, representing an astonishing 1in 20 private sector jobs. And, in turn, Indian firms have a strong record as investors in British industry, with perhaps the most highprofile being Tata’s successful management of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). But there are many more opportunities available.

On Tuesday, when I represented Britain at the 9th India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue in Delhi, our world leading finance sector was in sharp focus. Britain is perfectly placed to be India’s financial partner of choice, helping it to raise the finance needed for its continued rapid growth. My message is ‘Make in India, finance in the UK’.

There have already been more than 37 masala bonds issued on the London Stock Exchange. Only last Friday, HDFC issued their largest masala bond, raising £400 million (about.`32.40 billion). Yesterday, Jaitley and I confirmed a new partnership under the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, in which we will work together to leverage City of London investment into India’s rapidly growing energy and renewables market.

We believe that Britain’s position as a global finance hub, our plans to build a truly Global Britain as we leave the EU, and India’s own ambitious growth aspirations make an unbeatable combination to help us take our relationship to the next level.

Britain is already the world’s largest exporter of financial services and the leading centre for Fintech. There are enormous opportunities for Britain and India to collaborate in both areas, which is why I will be delighted to speak at the India-UK Fintech Conference in Mumbai, along with a delegation of British leaders in financial services and Fintech.

With us we bring this message: as the world’s oldest democracy and the world’s biggest democracy, who better to show the world the true benefits of free trade and open markets than Britain and India?

The writer is Chancellor of the Exchequer, Government of Britain