As a part of a packed three-day programme, UK Authorities Minister for Scotland Lord Malcolm Offord has been assembly with main Indian enterprise and political figures to advertise enterprise and cultural hyperlink, supported by performances from the world-famous Tattoo.
On Thursday (21 October), Scottish Tattoo performers have been joined by Indian Bollywood dancers for a surprising collaborative efficiency on the historic St Xavier’s Faculty. The cross-cultural occasion, designed for max affect on India’s enormous social media networks, was supported by the Scotch Whisky Affiliation and organised as a part of the UK Authorities’s GREAT marketing campaign.
India, the world’s sixth largest financial system, is a rising market with super potential, however at the moment makes up simply 0.7% of Scottish exports. In 2019 a Scottish Authorities report recognized India as one of many high 20 markets for Scottish export progress.
Minister Malcolm Offord, accompanied by Tattoo pipers, additionally launched two high-profile commerce showcases at Mumbai port.
On Friday (22 October), he inaugurated the Defence and Safety Business Day on board one of many UK’s Sort 45 destroyers, with attendees from corporations together with BAE Methods, Kongsberg Maritime, Babcock and Thales, all of whom have robust bases in Scotland.
He later took Indian representatives out to go to the provider HMS Queen Elizabeth, which was assembled in Rosyth, and invited Indian suppliers, together with Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Restricted and Larsen & Toubro, to go to UK shipyards. Firms are hoping to bid for as much as £1 billion of contracts as a part of India’s P-75i Submarine programme.
On Saturday (23 October) Lord Offord will open the GREAT future showcase, that includes UK enterprise innovators in future mobility, healthcare and life sciences, know-how, surroundings and clean-growth. Improvements on show will embody Polymateria, which is enabling plastics to biodegrade with no hurt to the pure surroundings. Their work is the results of collaboration between the Indian Authorities’s Central Institute of Plastics Engineering & Know-how (CIPET) in Bhubaneshwar and at Affect Options laboratories in Grangemouth, Scotland.
Minister Malcolm Offord mentioned:
It’s an honour to advertise Scottish commerce pursuits in India, and I’m delighted to be becoming a member of the Royal Edinburgh Navy Tattoo, as we spotlight the large quantity Scotland has to supply.
From foods and drinks, to defence and safety, life sciences, schooling, and extra, I’m trying ahead to assembly with representatives from a variety of sectors.
The UK Authorities is constructing stronger hyperlinks with international locations throughout Asia, and Scottish jobs and companies will profit significantly from these relationships.
India is of explicit curiosity to Scotland’s whisky producers. In response to the Scotch Whisky Affiliation (SWA), whisky exports to India amounted to £102 million in 2020, with additional potential for progress if tariffs have been lowered. The SWA joined Minister Malcolm Offord for occasions as a part of the delegation.
Worldwide Director on the Scotch Whisky Affiliation, Ian McKendrick, mentioned:
India is the Scotch Whisky trade’s primary commerce precedence. Unlocking progress by decreasing the present 150% tariff will imply extra jobs and funding throughout the UK, and would profit Indian shoppers. Securing an early deal to scale back the tariff on Scotch Whisky is a win-win.
These occasions are a possibility to put the groundwork for future commerce talks, and underline the transformational affect that decreasing the Scotch Whisky tariff would have on the trade, with the potential for over £1 billion to be generated in further exports over 5 years.
The UK Authorities’s Excessive Fee in India works carefully with organisations just like the Scotch Whisky Affiliation to help Scottish pursuits in India. The Division for Worldwide Commerce additionally companions with Scottish Improvement Worldwide growing commerce hyperlinks between Scotland and India.
The commerce go to coincides with the HMS Queen Elizabeth and her Provider Strike Group visiting Mumbai because it returns from its Freedom of Navigation deployment to Asia. The UK International Secretary Liz Truss, can also be visiting India to fulfill counterparts and talk about mutual pursuits and co-operation between the international locations. She is predicted to hitch Lord Offord in Mumbai at a reception occasion later in the present day.
