- Saturday, November 23, 2024
Lord Ahmad was scheduled to cover the Indian cities of Chennai and Ahmedabad during his visit, which coincides with the UK visit of Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh starting later the same day.
By: Shubham Ghosh
BRITISH minister for South Asia, Lord Tariq Ahmad, was on Monday (8) set to launch a three-day visit to India during which he will launch two new UK-funded sustainability projects, the UK foreign office said.
Lord Ahmad was scheduled to cover the two Indian cities of Chennai (in the state of Tamil Nadu) and Ahmedabad (in Gujarat) during his visit, which coincides with the UK visit of Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh starting later the same day.
The foreign office said Ahmad’s visit is reflective of the strengthening UK-India relationship as a key pillar of the country’s long-term foreign policy and its “enduring engagement” in the Indo-Pacific.
“Tamil Nadu and Gujarat are leading the way in the development of emerging technologies, and I am delighted to see first-hand British businesses pioneering innovation in the region,” said Ahmad, who is the minister of state for the Middle East, South Asia, UN, and the British prime minister’s special representative on preventing sexual violence in conflict.
Read: India defence minister Rajnath Singh to visit UK on January 8
“During my visit, I look forward to further promoting joint innovation projects alongside dynamic Indian businesses – from renewable manufacturing to financial services. These are made possible through the close trade partnership we have between our two countries,” he said, according to a foreign office release.
In Chennai, the minister will launch a Heat Mitigation project alongside Tamil Nadu’s State Planning Commission.
According to the foreign office, the project will provide recommendations to the government of Tamil Nadu to address extreme heat-related deaths and the loss of vital ecosystems.
Read: Strong trade deal with India could boost UK economy by billions of pounds, say UK MPs
With the Tamil Nadu Department of Environment and Climate Change, the British politician will also launch an Electronic and Battery Waste Management project, which will develop a plan to reduce battery waste.
“As the states of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat are two of India’s largest economies, the minister will use his trip to highlight the strong UK-India trade partnership and explore new opportunities to collaborate, including on clean energy growth,” the foreign office said.
During the two-day Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet which kicked off in Chennai on Sunday (7), Ahmad will deliver a keynote speech on the success of innovative UK-India projects in climate and energy.
He will continue to showcase the sustainable success of British businesses overseas at a GREAT reception and will see first-hand how British business is supporting clean growth in India.
“Tamil Nadu and Gujarat are leading the way in the development of emerging technologies, and I am delighted to see first-hand British businesses pioneering innovation in the region,” Ahmad said.
“During my visit I look forward to further promoting joint innovation projects alongside dynamic Indian businesses – from renewable manufacturing to financial services. These are made possible through the close trade partnership we have between our two countries.”
From Chennai, Ahmad will move to Ahmedabad for the opening of the biennial investors’ summit, Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, where he is set to highlight close ties between the UK and India. At the summit, he will witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the UK’s Abertay University and India’s École Intuit Lab as a partnership agreement geared towards teaching, research and innovation expertise shared between the two organisations.
in India, Ahmad will meet with national and local government representatives and talks will be wide ranging, from clean energy to human rights. He will also discuss progress towards an ambitious trade deal, for which there is strong political will on both sides.
(With PTI inputs)
