Indo-British Partnership Sets $7.5bn Bilateral Trade Target

The Indo-British Part-nership (IBP) has set a bilateral trade target of some $7.5 billion by the turn of the century, up 66 per cent from the present $4.5 billion, Sir Terrence Harrison, British co-chairman of the IBP said here yesterday.

As part of its efforts to focus on six sectors infrastructure; manufacturing; food processing; education and training; environmental control and mining identified for increased trade and investment, IBP has set up teams which will work to promote bilateral trade and investment in the six sectors, he added.

IBP will organise seminars and forums focussing on these sectors at the annual meet of the joint initiative at Mumbai in March, on lines of the IBP Coal Forum organised in Calcutta and Delhi late last year.

 

We plan to organise seminars on power transmission, coal etc. We would like to have flow of information two ways and will be glad to exchange our experiences, Sir Terrence said. The joint initiative also plans to organise an auto components fair at Manchester in July.

Indo-British Partnership is a joint initiative led by the private sector of the two countries with a mandate to increase bilateral trade and investment with particular emphasis on small and medium enterprises and to promote technology and science links between the two countries.

Since its inception in 1993, bilateral trade has risen 70 per cent to some $4.5 billion (Rs 16,200 crore).

Over 600 joint ventures have been set up between British and Indian companies since 1994.

Indian investments into Britain also have been going up. Interestingly, there is a trend of investments in manufacturing rather than in clothing, shoes etc as earlier, Sir Terrence said.