By: JurmoloyaRava
JUST over a year ago, Theresa May made India her first overseas destination outside Europe as prime minister. During her visit, she celebrated the historic ties the UK has with India, and called for greater co-operation between our two countries on issues such as security and migration.
Her visit demonstrated the sheer importance that the UK places on our relationship with India, and one which will be all the more important as we forge a new path outside the European Union.
Last week, I too had the good fortune to be able to spend some time in this incredible country. I was delighted to see the significant progress that has been made in a year on the number of important areas we are increasingly working more closely on. Our two governments have established a regular dialogue where we take forward our common interests around simplifying visa processes, cooperating further on mutual issues such as returning overstayers, and improving border and immigration systems.
And this work is yielding significant results: tourism in both directions is booming, with more Indians visiting the UK than ever before and the number of Indian students choosing Britain’s world-class universities up 10 per cent on last year. We also granted nearly 60,000 work visas to Indians last year – more than any other nationality – with just over half a million visas issued overall.
As immigration minister, it is abundantly clear how important cooperation on immigration is to maintaining our historically strong relationship. That is why I was delighted to open a new Visa Application Centre in the great city of Bangalore, the second of its kind in the city and the 18th in India overall. Bangalore is the technology and IT capital of India and this centre is located in the middle of the suburb of Whitefield, where companies such as Infosys and Tata Corporate Services are based. These companies send thousands of employees to the UK every year – and our new centre will make it easier than ever before for the brightest and best Indian workers to come to the UK.
Indeed, India already has the most centres of any country in the world – a clear indication of our determination to create a ‘living bridge’ of people, ideas, institutions and technology between our two great nations. This new centre is yet another example of the value we place on our strong partnership.
While in India, I also met business people from across the country, including representatives from the Chamber of Indian Industry and Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. As the UK has been the largest G20 investor in India for the past decade, I was pleased to hear about the vital role we are playing in building skills in the Indian workforce. But it is by no means one-way traffic – India is now the fourth largest investor and second largest job creator in the UK, providing crucial opportunities for our country too.
This is a record of which we should be proud – and I am determined to continue our work to bring the UK and India closer together still. The commercial, cultural and historical ties between our two countries are hugely important and demonstrate how committed we are to building on our relationship and positioning ourselves as a truly Global Britain.
[TheChamp-Sharing]
