Britain's communities secretary James Brokenshire and the Lord Mayor of London, global ambassador for the UK’s financial and professional services industry have embarked upon their respective trips to India.
Brokenshire went to India for a three-day visit from Thursday 4 October to promote business and technology ties of the country with the Midlands region of England.
While addressing a press meet in Pune on Friday afternoon, Brokenshire said that Maharashtra and Midland have lot of things in common, which will lead to great advancements on various fronts, including technology and future mobility solutions, the sake Times reported. He added, “Both regions are at the cutting edge of modern engineering technology driving the future mobility revolution."
He further said that Midlands and Maharashtra are thriving tech hubs in their own right, and by bringing these two great regions together, they are strengthening technological and economic ties to the benefit of people and businesses.
Mayor of West Midlands Andy Street, who accompanied him said that they are in talks with Tata Motors and Bharat Forge on future mobility solutions such as increasing the use of electric vehicles.
Brokenshire said in a statement, "The Midlands and Maharashtra are thriving tech hubs in their own right, and by bringing these two great regions together we are strengthening our technological and economic ties to the benefit of our people and businesses. Whether it's manufacturing the latest car model or sharing ground-breaking research, there is a lot to be gained and I'm determined we make the most of the opportunities, particularly as we prepare to leave the European Union.”
Brokenshire began his engagements in New Delhi by holding talks with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Anant G Geete, Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Sector Enterprises, as well as Sir Dominic Asquith, British High Commissioner to India. In Maharashtra, the minister held talks with Indian advanced manufacturing giant Bharat Forge. He was joined by the Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street, and Chair of the Midlands Engine partnership, Sir John Peace.
The UK government is also using the opportunity to encourage British companies to participate in the India-UK Future Tech Festival in New Delhi in December.
Lord Mayor's visit to India
Lord Mayor Charles Bowman has taken a business delegation to Mumbai, Bangalore and Dellhi from 7 to 12 October 2018 to strengthen trade links with the City of London.
He is accompanied by representatives from 11 UK fintech firms as well as Lord Mayor elect Alderman Peter Estlin. List of firms on delegation include business champion- LouDeloitte, Global Processing Services, iProov, Onfido, PESB, R5FX, Salary Fits, Skyline Partners, Worldpay, Wrisk.
During the visit the Lord Mayor also announced that a Scholarship will be awarded to one exceptional student as part of the Mansion House Scholarship Scheme. This award will be the fourth scholarship issued in India since the scheme began.
Lord Mayor of London Charles Bowman said, “The UK and India enjoy a strong and enduring relationship that continues to reap results in many areas including finance and commerce.
“India is the fourth largest foreign investor in the UK, and ties between our two countries are growing. But there is so much more we can do together, particularly in the area of fintech, where UK expertise perfectly matches the needs of India’s growing digital market.
“Travelling with me on this visit are some of the best and brightest fintech firms the UK has to offer, and I can’t wait to see them fly the flag for UK industry.”
Secretary of State for International Trade Dr Liam Fox MP said, “Trade between the UK and India has risen by 19% to £18.8bn but there is still enormous potential to expand this relationship even further. This is particularly true for areas like fintech where Britain is a world leader – last year alone, the UK secured more tech venture capital investment than Germany, France, Spain and Ireland combined.
“I’m delighted to see the Lord Mayor leading this delegation of innovative and ambitious UK firms on a trade mission to India and my international economic department is committed to working with key partners like the City of London to champion free trade across the globe.”
