British prime minister urges India to reduce barriers to foreign investment in retail, defence and banking.
British prime minister David Cameron wants to drive his country out of the “global economic carnage” that has ravaged Western economies over the past few years. And he is looking towards India for this.
On the first day of his three-day visit to India, Cameron went all out to woo India to enhance business ties with Britain, which is mired in massive trade deficit and rising unemployment rate.
And he did it unabashedly. “I’m not ashamed to say that’s [selling Britain to India] one of the reasons why I’m here today,” he said in his speech at the Infosys campus.
“We in Britain are determined to work harder to earn our living. Attracting more foreign investment, making more things for the world again, selling ourselves to the world with more vigour than ever,” said Cameron setting the tone for his Indian tour.
UK’s youngest prime minister in 200 years said he was a “practical politician” who went for “obvious” solutions.
“I believe when problems are serious, we should tackle them. When the answer is obvious, we should do it. That is why I am here. The problem is serious — economic crisis, global insecurity, climate change. And the answer is obvious — India and Britain coming together.”
Cameron made it clear India would contribute considerably in tackling economic malaise. “India represents an enormous opportunity for British companies. Already our trade relationship is worth £11.5 billion a year. But I want us to go further,” he said.
He expects his country’s ties with India to “drive economic growth upwards and unemployment figures downwards”.
Cameron termed his efforts on improving business ties with India as “job mission”.
“Indian companies employ 90,000 people in the UK. Many more jobs in Britain exist thanks to the activities of British companies in India. I want to see thousands of more jobs created in Britain and India too, though trade,” he said.
Cameron urged India to reduce barriers to foreign investment in banking, insurance, defence manufacturing, retail and legal services. “More investment in each other's economies will be a vital boost to both our countries,” he said.
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