Britain’s most senior cabinet member of Indian-origin Priti Patel is in India to make the new Theresa May government’s outreach to New Delhi. In an interview to The Hindu’s Diplomatic Editor Suhasini Haidar, she says India has nothing to fear from Britain’s exit from the EU.
Q: Your visit is the first by a member of the new Theresa May government since Britain voted to exit the UK. You have called Brexit a win-win situation for India and the UK, but there are misgivings here about its impact on everything from trade to visas and immigration. How do you answer those, have you been asked about them?
No, it’s only when I talk to journalists that these concerns come up. I was with businessmen on Friday, I’ve done a lot in my time here, met a range of people who support the UK India relationship. I have not come across scepticism at all. Ive seen the PM, the finance minister, the urban development minister, and we’ve had very open discussions and no scepticism. I think this is like the referendum campaign. The UK India relationship is a very powerful and productive relationship. It is a strategic relationship and all you have to do is go back to (PM Modi’s trip) in last November to see how important that relationship has become. And the work and progress that has taken place since. The fact that my work goes across departments in the government shows a lot about how Theresa May runs the government. She sees someone like me as not just as secretary of state for international development, but as someone who has worked very coherently over time to strengthen the UK India relationship.
Q: You said only journalists seem to worry about Brexit impact, and yet there have been surveys, like the new report from Deloitte that indicates that Indian business will be heavily impacted when Britain leaves the EU. Growth figures in the UK are in danger of falling, and already the UK’s position in India’s bilateral trade has fallen from Number 3 to Number 12.
Let me put some context to this. Indian decision makers all speak of the frustration over the inability to get a (Free) trade deal going with the European Union. The EU, the institutions of the EU have held back the economic development of India when it comes to prosperity as they would not do a trade deal. We now have the ability to go out and roll out the pitch through bilateral relations. We know, I have been to the G-20 ministerial meetings last week, and we had countries falling over each other to be front of the queue to engage with the UK on trade issues. So the prosperity agenda for India is enormous through bilateral trade. Once we leave the EU, and I mean the EU institutions, not Europe itself, we will have the opportunities to conduct bilateral deals on commerce and trade. My government is incredibly positive about that, and so I might add, is the government of India.
Q: You’re correct that the EU-India FTA that has been stuck for years is a source of concern, are you saying that the problem was the EU countries there and not India?
I’m saying that’s the frustration of being a member of the European Union and that didn’t benefit the relations between India and Europe. We will now be the catalysts for greater prosperity in bilateral relationships in the future.
Q: You’re in India even as a very famous Indian artist Amjad Ali Khan was denied a visa to the UK. This plays into the concerns I mentioned over Britain turning more conservative on visas post-Brexit. What can you tell us about the visa denial?
That case has nothing to do with Brexit. There is a statement out and I don’t want to go beyond that. Ministers do not comment on consular issues or visa cases. I can’t sit here and comment on every visa.
Q: Did the case come up in your meetings here?
Of course not!
Q: In India, your meetings have been primarily on development partnerships, especially on skilling and smart cities. Tell us a bit about that, because in the last few years the British development agency DFID has stopped giving aid.
We are not here in an aid capacity at all. I would put my role and the of International Development department in the wider UK government strategic partnership. So smart cities are part of the UK-India relationship along with skills and employment. These are issues PM Modi constantly speaks about. So I’m not here just representing DFID. I’m here as a government minister for the Theresa May government and covering a range of areas where deals were made between my former PM Cameron and PM Modi in particular. In smart cities, we have a deal on technical assistance, infrastructure delivery, the special purpose vehicles for development projects where expertise is needed. We’ve had discussions on the bonds listed recently on the London Stock exchange which were oversubscribed and I think that speaks volumes on the state of the financial markets in London, and these will fund much of the growth projected in India. In Skills, British companies are leading the way the UK skills pledge. We are now looking at how the skills agenda is developed, so that we can grow the skills market and look at employment opportunities so they are linked. PM Modi is incredibly ambitious about India and driving the UK-India partnership.
Q: Since you said you represent the whole government on this visit, could you tell us about the extradition requests from the Indian government for people they want to prosecute here: Lalit Modi, Vijay Mallya, but also Christian Michel, wanted in the Agusta Westland case. Will the new government take these requests any further? I ask because the Indo-UK extradition treaty of 1993 has seen very few successful cases.
That’s specific to a government department, and its not for me to comment on. These discussions are always out there and ongoing. It’s for the two governments to discuss them and come to the right resolution.
Q: PM David Cameron made a record number of visits to India during his tenure. How soon should we expect a visit by the new PM Ms.May?
I would say there are lots of opportunities. I have come here as a very senior minister, and there will be many more. And in due course I know PM May will also be here.
