At the invitation of Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of United Kingdom Mrs Theresa May will pay an official visit to India on 6-8 November 2016. This is PM May’s first bilateral overseas visit outside Europe since taking office. Mrs May will hold discussions with Prime Minister Modi during her visit on developing the strategic partnership between the UK and India, building on the deep links and cooperation we share.
During the visit, PM May and PM Modi will jointly inaugurate the India-UK Tech Summit. PM May will also be accompanied by a trade delegation consisting predominantly of small and medium businesses. UK Secretary of State for International Trade Mr. Liam Fox who will be in India to co-chair the India-UK Joint Economic Trade Committee (JETCO) will also join PM May during her visit to India.
She will take examples of the best of British business to India. The visit will mark the Prime Minister’s first trade mission, with a business delegation drawn from regions across the UK due to accompany her to India. It will consist predominantly of small and medium sized businesses, including Geolang, an innovative cyber security company based in Cardiff, Torftech, a creative energy company based in the South-East, and Telensa, a company focussed on smart city solutions based in Cambridge.
While we are not yet aware of all the delegates of Indian origin accompanying her, it is believed Alpesh Patel, a top trader, financial analyst and a columnist in Asian Voice will join Mrs May.
The Prime Minister will use the visit to deliver on the ambitious vision for Britain after Brexit she set out in a speech earlier this month, forging a new global role for the UK as a country with the self-confidence and the freedom to look beyond the continent of Europe. And she will use the visit to deliver on her pledge to create an economy that truly works for all, by introducing new and emerging enterprises, as well as more established players, to the key Indian market. A number of commercial deals are expected to be signed during the visit, creating and securing jobs at home and demonstrating market confidence in the strength of the British economy following the EU referendum vote.
With approximately 1.5 million people of Indian origin in the UK, the Indian diaspora plays a vital role in our national life. India is now our second largest international job creator – last year, India created 7105 new jobs in Britain through 140 projects, and in total Indian companies currently employ over 100,000 people in the UK. We have unique ties between our two countries, and there is enormous potential to grow.
The Prime Minister will visit two cities in India, starting with the capital New Delhi, where she will inaugurate the India-UK TECH Summit alongside Prime Minister Modi. The TECH Summit, South Asia’s largest technology conference, will provide a platform for promoting technology-intensive trade between the two countries.
Speaking ahead of the visit, the Prime Minster said: “As we leave the European Union we have the chance to forge a new global role for the UK – to look beyond our continent and towards the economic and diplomatic opportunities in the wider world. I am determined to capitalise on those opportunities, and as we embark on the trade mission to India we will send the message that the UK will be the most passionate, most consistent, and most convincing advocate for free trade.
“In the past the focus of trade delegations has been big businesses, but I want to take a new approach that recognises the full range of British business. So this time we will be focussing on small and medium sized businesses – and, importantly, the delegation will include representation from every region of the UK. I want to create an economy that truly works for everyone – and this new approach to international trade missions will help achieve just that.
“The relationships between our two countries are strong, and the Indian diaspora plays a vital role in our national life. In my talks with Prime Minister Modi I want to build on our relationship for the benefit of both our countries, generating jobs and wealth and maintaining cooperation on defence and security.”The visit will mark the Prime Minister’s second trip to India. In her capacity as Home Secretary, she previously visited New Delhi and Hyderabad on 27-29 November 2012, where she visited the National Police Academy and held talks with Ministers and the National Security Adviser on bilateral security cooperation.
Over the last two years, the top 5 Indian investments in the UK have been:
l JLR with an investment of £97million producing 3820 jobs
l Tata Motors with an investment of £84 million producing 1825 jobs
l FirstSource with an investment of £31m producing 678 jobs
l Neterwala with an investment of £20m producing 152 jobs
l India Bulls with an investment of £66 million producing 150 jobs.
