UK and India: How the relationship can be strengthened?

A high-powered British delegation, including six Cabinet ministers, is currently visiting India.

At a CNBC-TV18 panel discussion, British Prime Minister David Cameron, the youngest in 200 years, spoke about his vision for the new Britain and how he hoped to shape the Indo- British partnership.

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Panel members from India included Anand Sharma, Minister of Commerce & Industry; Kapil Sibal Minister of Human Resource Development and Montek Singh Ahluwalia Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission.

Panel members from UK included Vincent Cable, Secretary of State for Business and George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Below is a verbatim transcript. Also watch the accompanying video.

Menaka Doshi, CNBC-TV18: You are the youngest Prime Minister since the 19th century, this is the first coalition government that Britain has had since 1974 and only the second since 1929 and it’s also the first coalition government between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats ever. Do you consider these features of your government an advantage or disadvantage, considering that it comes at a time when Britain, the rest of Europe and large part of the developed world are facing financial tumult?

Cameron: I think in many ways it’s an advantage because when the problems are big, you need to find big solutions. What the Liberal Democrats Vincent Cable’s party and the Conservatives have done is put aside short-term political interest and come together in the national interest to try and provide good, strong, stable government.

We have even announced the date of the next election in five years time, which means we can focus on things like getting the deficit down, getting Britain’s economy moving and also building the relationships we want to have with country like India where we think is huge potential to build and what is already a strong relationship, to make it go further. That takes time and effort and follow up. That’s why a five year government means we can do these things properly.