India’s High Commissioner to the UK Y K Sinha says the foreign aid deal is becoming a thing of the past, instead easier access to British markets, easier movement of people and the transfer of technology are more important than British aid.
Sinha said the future priority should be getting a good trade deal sorted out.
“We don’t want to prejudge British aid that has been given, or will be given. We are grateful for any assistance we received in the past or will get in the future. But if it suddenly stopped would it make a huge difference? No. Did anyone in the government of India ask for assistance? No,” he told the Sunday Express.
He says India never asked Britain for hundreds of millions of pounds in foreign aid and doesn’t even need it. Though India is “grateful” for the aid, the money will not make a “huge difference” to the country’s rapidly expanding economy.
Britain sent India £279million in aid in 2014 alone despite the fact the country has its own space programme. There are plans to give India a further £130 million in “technical assistance” by 2018.
Sinha said the relationship between Britain and India has reached a “new level” and that the “sky’s the limit” for what the countries can achieve together.
“We have a very vibrant Indian diaspora of 1.5 million British citizens or dual origins who live here and contribute very meaningfully – 1.8 per cent of the population contributes around six per cent of UK GDP. We are very proud of this,” he added.
