UK Chancellor in B'luru, joins G20; enjoys south-Indian meal with "Aiyyo Shraddha" [PHOTOS]

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister) Jeremy Hunt arrived in Bengaluru on Thursday to attend the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting. This is his first international trip since taking over as the Finance Minister in October last year. Hunt's trip to India has a long list of agenda, focusing on strengthening the UK-India economic ties by increasing new investment and bringing new jobs to the UK.

Ahed of the G20 meet, Hunt took the time out to meet social media influencer Shraddha Jain, who goes by Aiyyo Shraddha on social media. Hunt was interviewed by Shraddha over a meal of South Indian dishes, including masala dosa and vada. The meet at the popular hangout place in Bengaluru, Airlines Hotel, where they were also seen enjoying tea.

For the meet, Shraddha had crowd-sourced questions and the Q&A session will be released soon. Taking to social media, Shraddha had shared: "Masala Dosa with Mr. Jeremy Hunt, Finance Minister, UK! I could get used to this." This was Shraddha's second high-profile meeting this month. She met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 13 in Bengaluru on the sidelines of Aero India Show.

The UK Chancellor also visited the Wipro Campus in Bengaluru, where he met with employees and interacted with senior leadership. "He met with workers at the company as well as senior leaders & spoke about the UK's place as a tech powerhouse, with 8 UK cities now home to more than 2 unicorn businesses," the HM Treasury noted, sharing photos of his Thursday's proceedings.

UK Chancellor joins G20

The two-day FMCBG meeting began Friday, which would be presided over by Sitharaman and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. The first G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting, under the G20's Indian Presidency, is scheduled to take place in Bengaluru between February 24-25. The meeting is aimed at fostering a meaningful exchange of ideas among ministers and Governors to address some of the key global economic issues. In all, there will be 72 delegations attending the meeting.

The Chancellor is attending the G20 alongside the Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey. Both are focused on tackling inflationary pressures. The Chancellor's work at the G20 will also contribute to the UK Government's broader economic aims to halve inflation, grow the economy and reduce national debt. India is projected to be the world's third largest economy by 2050, with a tech industry that generated US $227 billion (£188 billion) in revenue in FY2022. It is already a significant economic partner for the UK, and the Chancellor is seeking to promote greater collaboration between the two countries.

"I want the UK to be the world's next Silicon Valley – this is an ambition within reach thanks to our status as a global financial powerhouse and home to world class universities and research institutions. We already have a $1 trillion tech industry, but we want to go further to create jobs and wealth across the UK. To help us get there, we need to deepen investment connections with like-minded countries around the world – starting with our Indian friends who are fast becoming an economic superpower in their own right," Hunt said in a statement.

"The UK is working with India to solve the world's biggest challenges, through India's ambitious G20 Presidency. As we work towards an ambitious free trade agreement to help double UK-India trade by 2030, it is great that the Chancellor can be here in Bengaluru, India's Silicon Valley," Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India, said.