Working more closely with India

There is potentially a glittering prize for India and the UK in the fast-changing world of 2026 - this is to forge a new and deep commercial relationship. To explore this prospect, The Industry Forum kicked off our New Year programme with a roundtable on ‘Working more closely with India,’ led by Seema Malhotra MP, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Indo-Pacific. Members and guests attending included business people, academics and diplomats. The discussion ranged over issues and opportunities for building on the existing strong UK/India bonds and the recent trade agreement. It is clear that the FCDO is becoming more commercial and working closely with the Department for Business and Trade to strengthen UK focus on the whole, fast-growing, Asia Pacific region. The UK has important strengths in being stable and trusted in a trade environment subject to volatile supply chains, tariffs and sanctions. UK business people are enthusiastic about the Indian market but need to understand better how government trade and investment plans link to UK industrial strategy. They would also appreciate more government-led trade promotion activity, and guidance on some of the tricky sanctions issues relating to the current geopolitical situation. There is a vast amount to do, and some urgency, to turn opportunities into concrete plans in sectors such as energy, automotive, professional services, recycling and much more. We plan more meetings on these topics.