October 10, 2025
MUMBAI – UK PM Keir Starmer began his address at the sixth edition of the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2025 on Thursday afternoon in Mumbai at the Jio Convention Centre by greeting his audience in heavily British accented Hindi, saying “Namaskar Mumbai. Mujhe yaha aakar bahot khushi hui (Hello Mumbai, I am happy to be here today)”, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the others applauded approvingly at his charm offensive.
Keir Starmer said, “We want the UK to be India’s first choice for finance and fintech.”
Speaking at GFF 2025, Prime Minister Modi said, “When I came here last time, the 2024 elections were due and I said that I would come for the next fest.”
“I invite the UK and all other countries for partnership with India. We must build a fintech world where technology, people, and the planet exist in harmony. We want to make such a fintech world, where technology will enrich people and the planet, where innovation growth can be good, and finance can be the path to human progress. The global trade partnership between Bharat and the UK has set an example for the world, showcasing a win-win path,” he said.
“India is one of the most technologically inclusive societies today because of the democratisation of technology in the last decade. India is witnessing around 20 billion transactions worth Rs 25 lakh crore through UPI every month,” PM Modi pointed out.
“For us, AI means ‘All Inclusive’. We must invest in skills, innovation, and governance to drive the next wave of growth. In AI, Bharat’s approach is dependent on three principals, equitable access, population scale skilling and responsible deployment. Bharat’s AI mission has the capability to handle data and privacy. AI application design should be people centric,” he added.
“India’s UPI, Aadhaar-enabled payment, Bharat Bill payment system, Bharat QR, Digi locker and Digi Yatra are the backbone of India. I believe that RBI’s digital currency will make things better going ahead. Digital payments have become routine in India, which is because of the Jan-Dhan, Aadhar and Mobile (JAM) trinity. Among 100 digital transactions globally, 50 take place in India. Bharat’s digital stack is being talked about across the world now,” PM Modi said, adding, “This time, the UK is participating as a partner country in this fest. This partnership between two largest democratic countries will make the global financial landscape better.”
In his address at the sixth edition of the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2025, UK PM Starmer said, “We are natural partners in fintech. Our trade agreement provides the foundation for the UK to be India’s number one partner of choice for finance and innovation.”
Addressing the India-UK CEO Forum in Mumbai an hour earlier on Thursday afternoon, both the prime ministers talked about increasing market access, bilateral trade and economic cooperation between the two nations with the target of doubling trade by 2030 from the present level of USD $56 billion.
PM Modi said, “This year has been unprecedented, enhancing the stability of India-UK relations amid the current global volatility. During my visit to the UK in July this year, we signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). I deeply appreciate and congratulate my friend Prime Minister Starmer for his commitment and vision for this historic achievement. This is not just a trade agreement, but a roadmap for shared progress, shared prosperity and shared people between the world’s two largest economies.”
“Along with market access, this agreement will strengthen MSMEs in both countries. It will also open new doors of employment for millions of youth. To ensure that this Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) reaches its full potential, I would like to present four new dimensions to this CETA. These new dimensions of my CETA will perhaps broaden it considerably. ‘C’ stands for Commerce and Economy. ‘E’ stands for Education and People-to-People Relations. ‘T’ stands for Technology and Innovation, while ‘A’ stands for Aspiration,” Prime Minister Modi said.
“Today, our bilateral trade is approximately USD $56 billion. We have set a target of doubling it by 2030. I am confident that we can achieve this target ahead of time,” he asserted.
Addressing the India-UK CEO Forum, UK PM Keir Starmer said, “We’ve already had a really productive couple of days. We’ve brought together businesses and investors from both sides, from India and the UK, to network, to pitch, to discuss, to share ideas and that’s what they’ve been doing. I’ve seen it happening all around in the last two days, in corners of rooms, around tables over food or drink, and discussions going on. It’s been an incredible buzz on our side of the delegation”.
“We felt this on the plane on the way over. There was incredible energy, and it’s been a real buzz around these meetings. I think it is the continuation of what we started in Chequers. I’ve always seen this as a sort of two-part exercise. We’ve got huge, really important businesses and investors amongst the key businesses, investors when it comes to our relationship with India and iconic businesses. We’ve got medium-sized businesses, smaller businesses, but we’ve also got huge talent and experience across finance, sport, tech and manufacturing. Whilst we’ve been here, we’ve been able to do deals on films. Yesterday, I watched the Premier League doing their coaching training and that is going to go out across the whole of India,” said Starmer.
“I think all of this shows that this is not a narrow enterprise around just one or two sectors, it’s a much broader ambition than that. So what an incredible foundation we have to build on. We build on a solid foundation because billions already flow in trade and investment between our two countries, supporting thousands of jobs in both of our countries,” the UK PM said at the India-UK CEO Forum in Mumbai on Thursday.
Earlier in the morning, PM Narendra Modi hosted UK PM Keir Starmer at the Raj Bhawan, shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries with him before they sat down with their respective delegations to hold high-level talks with a focus on trade, education, defence co-operation as well as regional stability.
Welcoming the Keir Starmer, Mr Modi took a walk with him around the colonial era Raj Bhawan lawns overlooking the Arabian Sea at South Bombay, without any aides for a few minutes.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal, NSA Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri were also present as part of the Indian delegation at the high-level meeting held in the Raj Bhavan, which is the official residence of the Maharashtra Governor.
After holding high-level talks on Thursday, both the PMs addressed a joint press conference at the Raj Bhawan, where PM Modi said that the partnership between India and the UK is driven by “trustworthiness, talent, and technology”. He said, “India’s dynamism and the UK’s expertise combine to create a unique synergy. Our partnership is trustworthy, and it is driven by talent and technology”.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “Our great British universities are admired all over the world for their teaching excellence, high-quality research and commitment to innovation. I’m delighted that more Indian students will be able to benefit from a world-class British education in the near future, strengthening the ties between our two countries while pumping millions back into our economy and supporting jobs at home”.
PM Modi said that nine UK universities will open their campuses in India. “It is a matter of great joy that now nine universities from the UK are going to open campuses in India. The Gurugram campus of Southampton University was recently inaugurated, and the first group of students has also taken admission,” PM Modi said.
Five prestigious British universities have committed to setting up campuses across major Indian cities. The University of Bristol has received approval from the University Grants Commission (UGC) to open a new Enterprise Campus in Mumbai, scheduled to welcome students in summer 2026. The Gurugram campus of the University of Southampton is already operational, while University of Liverpool will set up a campus in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The University of York, the University of Bristol and the University of Aberdeen will open their campuses in Mumbai, PM Modi said.