As people celebrate Indian Independence Day around the world, it is a chance to reflect on what has been a fantastic 12 months for the UK-India partnership.
In November last year the home of English football was filled by the cheers of 60,000 British-Indian voices as visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined ouar former PM, David Cameron, onstage at Wembley Stadium. The monumental event concluded a successful trip that had seen the unveiling of £9 billion of commercial deals between India and Britain. Speaking in Parliament, Mr Modi said our two countries needed to create "one of the leading global partnerships” that collaborated on issues from finance to climate change.
The start of this month saw the launch of one of those commercial deals when the world’s first ever rupee-denominated bond issued outside of India by an Indian company was listed on the London Stock Exchange. We hope this will pave the way for Britain’s financial markets to be at the heart of funding India’s rapidly growing economy and ambitious infrastructure programme.
Equally, the British-Indian community makes a huge contribution to UK society and better yet it’s thriving. In business, in culture, in public service, in politics – there is a lot to be said and a lot to be celebrated. Our Indian-origin Secretary of State, Priti Patel, and Minister, Alok Sharma, are both doing great work in Government, and our Indian MPs, Shailesh Vara, Rishi Sunak and Suella Fernandes are making huge strides in politics.
In Theresa May, we have a strong leader who is committed to making our country work for everyone. I know she will take up the mantle to tackle social injustices, and carry it through with the same determination she showed on so many difficult issues as Home Secretary.
And as Party Chairman I am committed to delivering the same opportunity and equality she spoke of for our Party. I look forward to working closely with Conservative Friends of India and attending their brilliant events with the British-Indian community. The group was launched in 2012 by David Cameron and I hope that the vital work they are doing grows further under our new Prime Minister.
It is undeniable that following the EU referendum, our country is going to go through big changes. There will be challenges but also fantastic opportunities for us to do business right across the globe and of course strengthen the existing bond between Britain and India to achieve that “leading global partnership” Mr Modi spoke of nine months ago.
India and the UK have always had close trade ties: the UK is the largest G20 investor in India, while India invests more in the UK than the rest of the European Union combined. The Conservative Party is committed to further strengthening that relationship.
Happy Independence Day to you all. Jai Hind!
