British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said here on Monday that his country was “ready and able” to help India achieve its ambitious growth plans.
Mr. Clegg held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. The discussions included retrospective tax amendments concerning Vodafone and Cairn Energy.
“Narendra Modi and the BJP’s campaign slogan was Achhe din aanne wale hai — good times are coming. My message today is that Britain is ready and able to help India build that brighter future,” he told an audience of Indian and British businessmen. “Every U.K. business here today wants to work with you,” he said. Mr. Clegg is on a three-day visit to India, leading the first high-level British trade mission to New Delhi since the formation of the new government.
The delegation includes businesses from retail and education sectors and aerospace giant BAE systems, which is expected to push for the sale of the M777 howitzer.
Underlining the importance of Indo-British trade relations, Mr. Clegg said the two nations were already doing trade worth £16 billion.
“India invests more in the U.K. than it does in the rest of the European Union combined, and no country in the G20 invests more in India than Britain does,” he said.
Modi, Clegg discuss trade, climate change
In his meeting with Mr. Modi, Mr. Clegg conveyed the UK’s strong desire to further strengthen and deepen relations with India, while Mr. Modi expressed appreciation for Prime Minister David Cameron’s personal interest and commitment to the Indo-UK relationship. Mr Modi called for greater collaboration between India and the UK in the areas of education, skills development, clean energy, infrastructure development, and cleaning of rivers.
International issues relating to the WTO and climate change were also discussed.
Underlining the importance of Indo-British trade relations, Mr. Clegg said the two nations were already doing trade worth £16 billion.
Addressing an audience of Indian and British businessmen, he said, “India invests more in the UK than it does in the rest of the European Union combined, and no country in the G20 invests more in India than Britain does.”
Mr. Clegg is accompanied by energy secretary Edward Davey, who will be travelling to Hyderabad on Wednesday, becoming the first British minister to be engage with India’s youngest state Telangana.
