Foreign Sec. promotes business ties with India

Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, will visit New Delhi and Bangalore in February as part of a major British Government initiative to work with the Indian government to further enhance the strong relations between the two countries.

During his visit to Bangalore, he will present awards to Indian students who have won scholarships to study in the UK on the Chevening programme. He will also visit the premises of Astra Zeneca and Infosys and deliver a speech on 'Britain and India: A Changing and Prospering Partnership'.

He is the second UK Government Minister to visit India in the past few weeks. Home Secretary, David Blunkett, has just returned from a trip to both India and Pakistan.

Speaking before his departure, the Foreign Secretary said: "In Bangalore I will be speaking about why India is so important to Britain. Bangalore will be an appropriate venue: more than 70 British companies have operations there, including leading firms such as HSBC, Rolls Royce, BAe Systems and Misys. And these links are being reciprocated by India companies, investing in the UK IT sector or collaborating with British companies on cutting-edge biotechnology research. Increasingly, our business ties are a true two-way partnership, to the benefit of both our countries."

While the Government is committed to developing stronger economic ties with India, his visit will not be met with universal approval as many organisations, including trades unions, have been campaigning against the current trend of relocating jobs there.