Following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, we have been working closely with members and international partners as well as with government, officials and through international fora. We have terminated our Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Moscow International financial Centre and Forum Analytical Center – notice for which was served in collaboration with other EU financial centres, including Luxembourg for Finance and Paris Europlace, who also cancelled their respective MoUs. We will continue to engage with partners, especially the City of London Corporation and the sectoral trade associations, to coordinate ecosystem issues related to this war and urge that when governments do impose further sanctions that they are legally binding, implemented multilaterally and kept under review as circumstances evolve.
We have been busy across the breadth of our programme since the new year. I am delighted that we have now appointed successor chairs for our Board and Leadership Council (LC): Dame Anne Richards, CEO of Fidelity International and Bruce Carnegie-Brown, Chairman of Lloyd’s of London respectively. Bruce will succeed Sir Adrian Montague when he steps down at the end of this month; Anne will succeed Mark Tucker in June.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Adrian for his invaluable contribution as Chair of the LC. During his tenure he has progressed the role of the LC, being central to TheCityUK’s response to the Brexit deal, the pandemic and a host of other issues. He was also the inspiration and driving force behind the very successful Next Generation Leadership Council, which has brought a fresh and original perspective to the matters we deal with on behalf of the ecosystem. I know he leaves with the thanks and appreciation of the whole membership.
Our Annual Dinner, held in partnership with Shearman & Sterling in February, was a great success. It was good to get together with members and stakeholders who heard from the Governor of the Bank of England, Economic Secretary to the Treasury and Sir Adrian Montague. Preparations are well progressed for our hybrid inaugural International Conference, in partnership with Freshfields and HSBC, which will take place in London on 7 April. Further information about the event, our great line-up of speakers, and details on how to register are available on our website. Make sure you have also saved 30 June in your diaries for our Annual Conference, in partnership with EY.
Last month, I was part of a highly successful delegation to New York and Washington DC led by our US Market Advisory Group (MAG) Chair, Bruce Carnegie-Brown, and the Chair of the Policy & Resources Committee at the City of London Corporation, Catherine McGuinness. We held a series of meetings with US government officials, regulators and media, a networking reception at the Consul General’s residence and events as part of the Transatlantic Finance Forum. Feedback from members and stakeholders has been highly positive and we are now working on how to build on the substantial ambition and goodwill that was generated.
Our work with India continues to make good progress through the India-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP). It was very positive to see many of the recommendations we set out in our IUKFP GIFT City paper taken up in the Union Budget of India, which was released at the beginning of February. Last month we also held a sustainable workshop in partnership with the UK-India Business Council, the British High Commission in India, HM Treasury and the City of London Corporation to discuss commercial opportunities for sustainable infrastructure in India. Around 100 UK investors were offered insights and guidance on how to best access government support as well as introductions to potential co-investment partners.
