Lord Mayor of London to visit India

London, Oct 7 (PTI) The Lord Mayor of London will be in India on a five-day visit from October 10 to strengthen economic ties between India and the UK. The Lord Mayor Michael Bear will be leading a business delegation and visit Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. The aim of the visit is to promote business opportunities for the UK-based financial and professional services industry, and to further strengthen economic links between the UK and India. The programme for the visit includes meetings with key policy makers, ministers, regulators and business leaders. He will speak at a major seminar on urban regeneration and infrastructure finance in Kolkata and address a major India Shipping Summit in Mumbai. During the visit the Lord Mayor will also participate in the launch of a UK-based infrastructure firm Balfour Beatty's new business venture in India.
India is establishing itself as a global economic superpower. It is well documented that it is aiming to spend USD 1 trillion on infrastructure development by 2017, in order to sustain the outstanding levels of economic growth seen over the past decade, Bear said. This presents real business opportunities, and the UK wants to be a key partner in helping India to achieve this goal, he said. On this visit I will reassure Indian policy makers that the UKs commitment to India remains strong, that our companies want to do business in India and that the City of London remains Indias natural partner in global finance and business. We are here for the long term, Bear said. I will discuss how the City is still a dynamic place to do business and emphasise the fact that firms list in London because it is a world-leader in offering not only prestige but also high standards of transparency and corporate governance. Indeed, London was just last week ranked top of the Global Financial Centres Index, he said. The accompanying business delegation would include senior representatives of major infrastructure and financial services sectors, banking, legal services and construction.
On the visit the Lord Mayor would also discuss opportunities for increased interaction in areas including financial services development, banking reform and legal services, as well sharing UK expertise for the development of the Indian corporate debt market.