West Mids businesses to be "ambitious" with Indian trade
Representatives from almost 100 Indian businesses travelled up to Birmingham to attend the UK-India trade conference. Nalin Surie, High Commissioner of India to the UK, is in Birmingham for the event.
He told Insider that Indian manufacturers were "eager" for expansion and technological upgradation, and said that an agreement had been made between the two countries “to be ambitious in seeking to substantially increase trade and significantly increase investment".
The event coincides with Prime Minister David Cameron’s return leg of his summer trade mission to India.
The UK-India conference to promote bilateral trade with the SME manufacturing sector took place yesterday, and features workshops led by Tata Motors and visiting Indian business organisations.
The event also coincides with India celebrating its 60 years of being a republic this year.
More than 2,000 small and medium sized manufacturers already either trade or invest in India, or are very positive to do so and see it as a ‘viable growth market’, according to recent independent research by the Indian High Commission.
Nalin Surie, High Commissioner of India to the UK, welcomed the delegates to the event. He said he was “confident” that small businesses from both nations will benefit from the advanced technologies expertise that trade can offer.
He said: “British SMEs are keen to expand using the opportunities that Indian markets provide for them. SMEs on both sides can complement each other, particularly in advanced engineering, clean technology, energy efficiency systems, renewable energy, and many others”, the Indian envoy said.
“India and the UK agreed, during Prime Minister David Cameron’s recent visit to India, to be ambitious in seeking to substantially increase trade and significantly increase investment between the UK and India.”
The trade event was hosted in conjunction with the High Commission.
Councillor Mike Whitby, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: "Manufacturing will play a hugely important role in the UK’s economic recovery, with our highly skilled workforce and favourable exchange rate for export it already accounts for 11 per cent of our economic output.
"However, I echo David Cameron’s sentiment that the UK should look to strengthen the trade relations it already enjoys – the UK should be India’s partner of choice, not simply due to the economic sense it makes, but because of the shared rich cultural and social history of our two nations, perhaps best represented in the makeup of the city of Birmingham.
“With predictions that its economy will be that of the UK, France and Germany combined by 2040, trade missions such as these present us with an exciting opportunity to collaborate further with a market which is growing at an exponential rate.”
Councillor Whitby added that the West Midlands had “always enjoyed healthy trade relations” with the country, as India is second only to the US for foreign job creation in the region over the past six years.
