Gibraltar Pitches Closer Business Ties with India

London, Oct 23 (PTI) Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory, on Thursday made a strong pitch for closer business ties with India, following the conclusion of its treaty with the European Union (EU) earlier this year.

At a special Gibraltar Day event at the High Commission of India in London, key ministers from the region declared that the certainty and stability injected by the treaty means that Gibraltar is open for business like never before.

They also highlighted plans to build on its "thriving" Indian Gibraltar community to expand trade and cultural ties with India.

"The government endorses and seeks to expand its trading and cultural links with India. We have a thriving Indian Gibraltarian committed community that goes back many generations," said Nigel Feetham, Minister for Justice, Trade and Industry, Government of Gibraltar.

"We believe that Gibraltar is now open for business in a way that it never has been before. Gibraltar is now propelling itself into the next phase of its growth," said Gemma Arias-Vasquez, Minister for Health, Care and Business.

"What the treaty brings to Gibraltar is a certainty and a stability, which the jurisdiction has never had before, which enables Gibraltar to be able to go out to the world and sell its services in a way that we have never done before," she said.

The British Overseas Territory, bordered by Spain to the north and at the entrance to the Mediterranean, had clinched its EU treaty in June to remove all checks and controls on people and goods circulating between Spain and Gibraltar and establish a Customs Union between Gibraltar and the EU.

Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami said the region offers a host of opportunities for cross-sector collaborations on the back of the recently concluded India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). He highlighted fintech, financial services, healthcare and maritime among some of the key areas that offer immense scope for India-Gibraltar cooperation.

"Gibraltar has positioned itself as one of the most nimble players in maritime services, in maritime learning economy, but also in the range of services that go to ensure that the world's trade actually happens in an efficient and modern manner," he noted.

A panel discussion went on to delve deeper into the range of opportunities for closer India-Gibraltar ties "in a world of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) that connect some of the most dynamic markets together".