David Cameron unveils India trade drive
February 14, 2013, 10:13 am

David Cameron on a previous visit to India. [Getty Images]

In an interview with Zee TV, an Indian media Group, David Cameron said he wants the relationship between the UK and India to be “one of the great partnerships of the 21st century”.

Britain is looking at doubling bilateral trade with India by 2015.

Cameron invited Indian students to British educational institutes announcing that there was “no limit” on the numbers of Indians studying at British universities or staying on in graduate-level jobs.

Jointly funded research collaboration between the two countries has grown from £1 million to over £100 million in the last few years.

“We both want to see jobs, we want to see growth, we want to see investment,” Cameron told Sunrise TV and radio.

India has emerged as a major investor in Britain and Indian companies have invested $19.92 billion in the UK.

More Indian investment comes to the UK than the rest of the EU combined, according to UK government figures.

TATA Group is the largest manufacturing employer in the UK with 47,000 employees.

“I think it’s a very special partnership between Britain and India. We’ve got these ties of history, language, culture, but really I see it as a very strong relationship about the future – huge investment from India into Britain, huge investment from Britain into India, lots of our businesses partnering, lots of trade and lots of jobs, that’s what I see,” Cameron said.

Philip Dunne, the UK’s minster for defence equipment, support and technology, said last week that a detachment of British army will come to India in April for a joint exercise with the Indian army.

“We are looking forward to partner with India in indigenous manufacture projects. The collaboration between technology-rich Britain and high production capacity India would be not only in research and development but also in its applications” Dunne said.

Cameron outlined the prospects of a shared future between the two nations.

“There’s an amazing future if we team up our universities, our businesses. There’s actually, I don’t think, any limit on this relationship… I think Britain should show enormous respect for what India’s going to be able to do in the world, and we want to be one of your partners as you grow and succeed,” he said.

The UK has been treading a policy path of forging greater ties with the BRICS nations.

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