• News
  • India News
  • Vibrant Gujarat: British deputy high commission in Ahmedabad soon
This story is from January 11, 2015

Vibrant Gujarat: British deputy high commission in Ahmedabad soon

In order to strengthen its business and diplomatic relations with Gujarat, the UK will soon open an office of deputy high commission in the city. Apart from this, Gujarat will also see investment of £1.5 billion from the UK during this VGGIS.
Vibrant Gujarat: British deputy high commission in Ahmedabad soon
In order to strengthen its business and diplomatic relations with Gujarat, the UK will soon open an office of deputy high commission in the city. Apart from this, Gujarat will also see investment of £1.5 billion from the UK during this VGGIS.
“The British deputy high commission will be in operations in the next few weeks. It will be a full diplomatic office in Ahmedabad,” said UK minister for trade and investment, Lord Livingston, who is in city to attend the Vibrant Summit, where the UK is one of the partner countries.
“We have received the approval from the Indian government,” added Sir James Bevan KCMG, British high commissioner to India. Currently, the UK has deputy high commission offices in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Goa.
As many as 100 delegates and over 60 British companies are participating in the Vibrant Summit under the leadership of Livingston. The UK will also investment 1.5 billion pound in Gujarat. The investment will be made by the UK company, OPG Power Venture.
The company has already invested £400 million for a 300 MW thermal power project in Kutch. “The company will further scale its investment up to £1.5 billion to increase the capacity to 2,300 MW,” Livingston stated. This will be the largest British direct investment in Gujarat’s power sector.
The UK is keen to explore business opportunities in sectors such as education, skill development, infrastructure and financial services. According to Livingston, the intention behind bringing the large number of companies to Vibrant Gujarat is to create a next wave of investment from Britain to Gujarat.
The UK delegates also include global CEOs such as Vittorio Colao, chief executive officer of Vodafone, and Sam Walsh, CEO of Rio Tinto. The UK is the largest G20 investor in India.
Last year, the UK invested $3.2 billion in India, which was more than the second and third largest G20 investors in India combined. Similarly, Indian companies are among the biggest investors in the UK.
The UK accounts for around 10% of the foreign investments made in India since 2000. Despite a slowdown in both the UK and India, bilateral trade between the countries grew by almost 50% from £11 billion to £16.5 billion between 2008 and 2013.
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA