India Is The Next Economic Superpowers
India is on the brink of becoming one of the economic superpowers of the 21st century, Britain's Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, said here Monday as he sought an enhancement of trade and investment with "the world's fastest growing free economy".
"India is the world's fastest growing free-market economy with high standards in democracy and freedom and is on the brink of becoming one of the economic superpowers of the 21st century," he told top Indian business leaders here at an interaction organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
"India is, of course, an increasingly important market for the UK," said Andrew, Britain's special representative for international trade and investment.
"The UK is now a key market for India. The UK provides ready access to the European Union (EU) which now has a consuming population of almost 500 million - larger than the US, Canadian and Japanese markets combined," he said.
"As you can imagine, the UK remains the top destination for Indian investment into Europe and we are not about to rest on our laurels in achieving this," he said.
"We would gladly like to see more and would encourage your businesses to come to the UK and use us as a base for operating not only into Europe but also into other global markets," he stressed.
Andrew met Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Ashwani Kumar and discussed ways to tap the huge potential of trade and investment between the two countries.
Kumar told Andrew about huge opportunities India offers for British companies to invest and work in India.
"In the construction sector alone, the Indian government has earmarked $15 billion over the next 10 years to upgrade and extend the airport capacity in the country. This is an area in which UK companies could have major share. Oil and gas and power sector require billions of dollars of investment in the near future," Kumar said.
The 46-year-old Andrew, son of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, is visiting India for the first time. He will also go to Mumbai and Chennai to promote bilateral trade and investment and to showcase Britain as the preferred destination for Indian investors.
He will present the first-ever UK Trade and Investment Business awards in Mumbai Wednesday. These awards recognise the business partnership between the two countries.
India has emerged as the third largest foreign investor in Britain, after the US and Japan. In 2005-06, there was a 110 percent rise in the number of Britain-bound investment projects from India accounting for over 1 billion pound. Britain attracts about 60 percent of Indian investments to Europe.
Take Care...
India is on the brink of becoming one of the economic superpowers of the 21st century, Britain's Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, said here Monday as he sought an enhancement of trade and investment with "the world's fastest growing free economy".
"India is the world's fastest growing free-market economy with high standards in democracy and freedom and is on the brink of becoming one of the economic superpowers of the 21st century," he told top Indian business leaders here at an interaction organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
"India is, of course, an increasingly important market for the UK," said Andrew, Britain's special representative for international trade and investment.
"The UK is now a key market for India. The UK provides ready access to the European Union (EU) which now has a consuming population of almost 500 million - larger than the US, Canadian and Japanese markets combined," he said.
"As you can imagine, the UK remains the top destination for Indian investment into Europe and we are not about to rest on our laurels in achieving this," he said.
"We would gladly like to see more and would encourage your businesses to come to the UK and use us as a base for operating not only into Europe but also into other global markets," he stressed.
Andrew met Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Ashwani Kumar and discussed ways to tap the huge potential of trade and investment between the two countries.
Kumar told Andrew about huge opportunities India offers for British companies to invest and work in India.
"In the construction sector alone, the Indian government has earmarked $15 billion over the next 10 years to upgrade and extend the airport capacity in the country. This is an area in which UK companies could have major share. Oil and gas and power sector require billions of dollars of investment in the near future," Kumar said.
The 46-year-old Andrew, son of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, is visiting India for the first time. He will also go to Mumbai and Chennai to promote bilateral trade and investment and to showcase Britain as the preferred destination for Indian investors.
He will present the first-ever UK Trade and Investment Business awards in Mumbai Wednesday. These awards recognise the business partnership between the two countries.
India has emerged as the third largest foreign investor in Britain, after the US and Japan. In 2005-06, there was a 110 percent rise in the number of Britain-bound investment projects from India accounting for over 1 billion pound. Britain attracts about 60 percent of Indian investments to Europe.
Take Care...