INDO-BRITISH BILATERAL TRADE UP 30 PERCENT
Kolkata, 10 September 2007 (IANS)

The bilateral trade between India and Britain has grown by 30 percent in the last two years, British Deputy High Commissioner Simon Wilson said here Monday. "India now ranks third in terms of the number of investment projects in the UK, after the US and Japan. The bilateral trade in goods and services between the two countries had exceeded $10 billion last year," Wilson told reporters during an interactive business session on the Indo-British trade partnership organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI).

"Though the trade and investment partnership has never been stronger between India and the UK, there's huge scope to explore these opportunities in the days to come," he said.

India was the third biggest investor in Britain last fiscal with 73 projects. More than 60 percent of India's investment in Europe is in Britain. India has over 600 companies in that country, of which 400-odd companies are from knowledge-based economy. "With the growing economic activities taking place in India as well as in West Bengal, we are very hopeful of taking this trade relationship forward in future. We are interested in certain key areas like port development, healthcare, material handling, legal services, education and urban regeneration sectors," Wilson said.

Many Indian companies like Tata Tea, the Apeejay Group, IFGL and Usha Martin have already established their presence in Britain in the past few years.

A team from the British Deputy High Commission in Kolkata is also working with 10 or more companies that are looking to set up units in Britain over the next 12 months, he said. In the next couple of months, quite a few major delegations from Britain will visit Kolkata to explore opportunities in the water management sector, nanotechnology, education, healthcare and urban rejuvenation, the deputy high commissioner said.