Brexit has been frustrating but the world isn’t waiting for it and neither are UK and India, said Lord Mayor of London Peter Estlin as he tried to assure Indian investors about the growing strength of the UK’s financial technology sector.

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Speaking exclusively to CNBC-TV18 the Lord Mayor said, “Brexit has been frustrating as it is masking the sheer scale of innovation taking place in the UK. Uncertainty associated with Brexit needs to be resolved and that is clear. We need a resolution going forward”.

The Lord Mayor who is also the Ambassador of London city is in India to forge closer partnerships with Indian businesses in the fin tech and insurance sectors. He is meeting officials from NITI Aayog, Paytm, IRDAI, Invest India, Development Credit Bank, General Insurance Corporation of India and Maharashtra’s fin tech hub among others. In the last 9 months Estlin has travelled to more than 20 countries to strengthen London’s trade partnerships.

Estlin’s visit has two key focus areas. Firstly, to improve cooperation between RBI and UK’s FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) on framing regulations and encouraging Indian regulators to join the GFIN (Global Financial Innovation Network).

“UK is also looking at financial inclusion and how we can support India in terms of insurance penetration which is very low compared to the rest of the world. Expectation is to foster a knowledge partnership between the scale offered by the Indian economy and the specialist economy of the UK”, he said.

The Lord Mayor firmly believes that UK needs a deal as it prepares to leave the European Union on October 31. “If the deal does not happen then some other manifestation will happen but we will not stop trading with India or our closest neighbours”, he said.

Estlin also pointed out that despite the political uncertainty over Brexit, the UK has seen record levels of employment and capital pouring in.

“Fundamentally deals are still being done. Fintech growing at a phenomenal pace. Health & life sciences, creative, media and cyber are all witnessing growth. There are nearly 80,000 people in fin tech and 42 percent of that is coming from abroad. 5.5 billion pounds of capital has come into UK’s fin tech hub in the first seven months of 2019”, he said.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been criticised for the suspension of parliament. The Lord Mayor said that while proroguing of parliament is not unusual and it is important to note that parliament has not been able to come up with a solution in two years.

“Each parliamentarian has a responsibility rather than simply put the issue off further down the line. Time creates possibilities but also creates frustration as you are not coming up with an end game”, he said.

Watch the full interview on CNBC-TV18 show “Global Eye” on Friday at 7:30 pm.

First Published:Sept 18, 2019 6:18 PM IST