UK to double trade with India

Kochi: The United Kingdom (UK) is attempting to double its trade with India by 2015, said Eric Pickles, British cabinet minister for communities and local government.

Pickles, who is leading a 20-member business delegation, was talking in Kochi on Wednesday in a seminar on UK-built environment expertise. The delegation is also exploring partnerships with the state government in environment, infrastructure, construction and water sectors.

"Close relationships are already paying off. In the national level, we collaborate closely on everything from energy security to climate change and healthcare," Pickles said. The relationship is benefiting the UK too, he noted.

"Like you, we are in the midst of an infrastructure boom, rolling out superfast broadband and laying down a national high-speed rail network, to give us the backbone to compete on the global stage," he noted.

The positive aspect of India is "the sort of inward investment that saw Tata transforming iconic British brand Jaguar Land Rover into a runaway success," he said.

UK-India partnerships are also blossoming in Kerala, Pickles observed. "The special-purpose vessels built at Cochin Shipyard Ltd ( CSL) to ensure safe marine navigation along the Indian coast were designed and powered by Rolls Royce Marine. HR Wallingford has developed the liquefied natural gas terminal for Petronet LNG Ltd in Kochi," he highlighted.

"We are now looking at doubling our trade by 2015," he added.

Meanwhile, 40,000 Indian students are studying in the UK. And the British Council has trained nearly 1 million English language teachers, reaching over 17 million aspirational Indians who know that speaking English will help them to get on in life.

According to the British government's website, the bilateral trade between India and the UK touched 16.4 billion pounds in the fiscal year 2011 - 2012.