K V Kamath, President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Managing Director and CEO, ICICI Bank Ltd, is leading a 13 member delegation as part of the CII CEO"s Mission to the United Kingdom on 19-20 June 2008 with the aim of augmenting trade ties between India and the United Kingdom and exploring opportunities for catalysing bilateral economic relationship between the two countries.

The objective of the mission is Share India's Growth Story, Discuss common concerns on Economic Security, Explore opportunities for innovation in manufacturing, education and healthcare services and look to address issues faced by both British and Indian investors in each other's markets.

The CII CEO's Mission 2007 had affirmed that India and the United Kingdom are Strategic Partners and that this partnership is ensconced in the shared values of respect for democracy, freedom, human rights, pluralism and rule of law. The 2008 annual CII CEO's Mission to the UK is aimed at taking this relationship forward.

The opening up of the Indian economy has seen a shift in the bilateral economic ties between the two countries. India, which has always been a net importer from the UK, has become a net exporter to the UK since 2004-05. India's trade surplus with the UK has since then increased to £ 785 Million. 

"UK and India are critical for each other. One of the ways that CII reflects this is by taking the annual CII CEOs Mission to the UK, led traditionally by the CII President. This year's Mission too led by the CII President, Mr K V Kamath, and will present to the British Industry and Government Officials the Indian Industry's perspective on the changing global economic scenario and opportunities for the both the countries to address these growing concerns" said Mr Chandrajit Banerjee Director General, CII.

Coinciding with the visit of the CEOs Delegation, CII is organizing the CII Conference on Achieving 10% GDP Growth. Mr Kamal Nath, Minister for Commerce and Industry, Government of India, Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP, Minister of State for Borders and Immigration & Minister for the West Midlands, Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt MP, Member of Parliament, House of Commons, Mr Peter Luff MP, Chairman, Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Select Committee and Lord Karan Bilimoria Chairman, Cobra Beer Ltd are amongst the key speakers at the conference.

During the two-day visit, the delegation will also participate in the CII - CBC Roundtable on "Is the UK missing out on India's Growth?" and the CII-CBI Session on Bilateral Investments.

The CII President will host a grand reception in London which will be attended by more 200 Captain's of Indian and British industry, Senior Government Officials, Members of the Media amongst others.

The delegation will have meetings with Prof Malcolm Grant, President and Provost, University College London (UCL) to discuss on opportunities in the education sector and with Mr E Mervyn Davies, Chairman, Standard Chartered & Chairman, Business Council for Britain on common threats to the economic security of the two nations.

The Indian High Commissioner will also host a Luncheon meeting for the delegation where young NRI professionals will interact with these CEOs to understand the nuances of the Indian business scenario and economy.  

With a continuing focus on Climate Change, members of the delegation will participate and address The 11th Chatham House conference on Climate Change 2008.

With the view of exploring business opportunities beyond London, some members of the delegation will also be visiting Birmingham and participating in the Seminar on Doing Business with India which is being organized by the Birmingham City Council.

The CII Mission  members include  Venu Srinivasan, Vice President, CII and Managing Director, Sundaram-Clayton Ltd; Tarun Das CBE, Chief Mentor, CII; Dr Anand C Burman, Chairman, Dabur India Ltd; Baba N Kalyani, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Forge Ltd; Analjit Singh, Chairman, Max India Group of Companies; Malvinder Mohan Singh, CEO and Managing Director, Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd; Gautam Thapar, Chairman & CEO, Avantha Group; Phiroz Adi Vandrevala, Executive Director & Head, Global Corporate Affairs, Tata Consultancy Services; Rajan Ramesh Navani, Managing Director, Jetline Group of Companies; Deepak Puri, Chairman and Managing Director, Moser Baer India Ltd; Suhel Seth, Managing Partner, Counselage India;; Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII; Supriya Banerji OBE, Deputy Director General & Head - International, CII and Kavita Kohli, Mission Manager and Director, CII.

It is noteworthy that in last few years, the coming of age of Indian Multinationals has made India the third largest investor in the UK. The Tata's acquisition of Corus (an Anglo-Dutch steel giant) last year has been the highlight of Indian investments in the UK. There are close to 500 Indian companies in the UK, 75% of which are in the IT sector. There are close to 50 Indian companies currently listed on the London Stock Exchange. Major sectors attracting Indian FDI in Europe include Information & Communication Technology (ICT), Pharmaceuticals & Health Care, Financial services, and Automotive and Engineering sector.

UK gives India the same priority - UK is the third largest investor in India (after Mauritius and USA) for the period August 1991 to December 2006.

 Sourced From: Confederation of Indian Industry