Report Launch: Opportunities for greater UK-India regional collaborations
By Kealan Finnegan
UK India Business Council’s new report ‘Opportunities for UK Regions in India: An Analysis of Key Sectors for Collaboration’ identifies sector strengths in UK and Indian regions and highlights exciting synergies to enable more businesses to succeed in the UK-India corridor.
UK regions and Indian states have a diverse range of strengths and assets. To maximise the potential of the UK-India relationship it is vital that each region engages with India based on these strengths and where in India there is the greatest complementarity, and vice versa.
To support this objective, our report identifies the sector and sub-sector strengths of each one of the UK’s Mayoral Combined Authorities (10 regions throughout the UK), and analyses how these sectors are developed in India, resulting in exciting partnership opportunities between UK and Indian regions.
The report was launched in front of an Indian delegation at a West Midlands Growth Company and Department for International Trade event on 3 August, to coincide with the hosting of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. There, UK Trade Commissioner for South Asia, Alan Gemmell, said: “UK regions have a diverse range of strengths and assets. To maximise the potential of the UK-India relationship it is vital that each region engages with India, and that its strategy is to focus on their strengths and where in India there is the greatest complementarity. To support this objective, the UK government commissioned UK India Business Council to identify the sector and sub-sector strengths of each one of our country’s Mayoral Combined Authorities, and analyse how these sectors are developed in India, highlighting exciting synergies between UK and Indian regions. A really important piece of work if the bilateral relationship is to reach its full potential and to ensure that all corners of the UK and India, and the businesses in them, contribute and benefit from these opportunities.”
The opening up of trade and investment opportunities for businesses in all regions of the UK will play a key role in delivering on the levelling up agenda and in delivering for consumers across the country. Likewise, encouraging investment throughout the UK will help to grow more international collaboration opportunities, create jobs, and stimulate innovation.
At the same time, the UK-India bilateral relationship is growing under the Enhanced Trade Partnership and 2030 Roadmap. Ensuring that regions and the businesses within them all play a part in this growth and reap the benefits will thus be essential to the success of levelling up and the bilateral relationship.
