British Prime Minister Theresa May has expressed hope that when India raises its first-ever international sovereign bond this year, it should do so in London’s capital market.

Addressing the India Day summit in London, May said: “When the Indian government raises its first-ever international sovereign bond later this year, I hope they do so in the City of London – whose capital markets, with their unrivalled depth and liquidity, are the best in the world.”

“We are in the midst of an immensely productive period of economic relations between India and the UK. And I am immensely proud of the work I have done with Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi over the past three years both to strengthen the ties between our nations and to make sure that very special relationship works for all our people,” she said.

She expressed confidence that the bilateral business links would continue to grow stronger and deeper, “drawing us together and creating jobs and prosperity from Manipur to Manchester”.

She said the latest edition of the highly successful JETCO (India-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee) trade dialogue saw representatives from both nations discuss the removal of trade barriers in the years ahead.

“And once we leave the EU, our new immigration rules will see an individual’s right to work in the UK determined not by where they were born, but by what they can bring to our nation – a boost for Indian employers who want to do business in the UK,” the UK Prime Minister added, according to a British High Commission statement.

May was present along with UK Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox and Indian Minister for Commerce Piyush Goyal at the ‘India Day’ summit, which focused on financial services and technology.

They discussed how to further strengthen bilateral ties and growing two-way investment.

Goyal said the UK-India Joint Economic & Trade Committee can “become a very powerful forum through which we can identify areas of mutual cooperation, where our countries and businesses can resolve trade issues, and fast track our discussions and engagement”.

He held talks with Fox and other senior officials on “the strong UK-India ties and ways to strengthen trade and cooperation between two nations”.

Senior ministers and business representatives were present at a showcase of the UK-India economic and trade partnership.

The Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) meeting – which India has now convened with the UK more times than any other country – celebrated new agreements on market access.

The business and investment summit explored themes such as innovation in finance, the growing opportunities of Green Infrastructure, and opportunities for UK business in India’s developing economy, the statement said.

Further underlining the strength of the financial services relationship, Secretary of State Liam Fox and Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday opened the London Stock Exchange, which is now the world’s largest rupee-denominated Masala bond centre. Over the past two-and-a-half years, Indian issuers have raised over Abounds 5.7 billion on the London Stock Exchange through Masala, dollar, and green bonds.

British High Commissioner to India, Dominic Asquith, said that bilateral trade has grown for nine consecutive quarters to an impressive 20.47 billion pounds last year.