By IANS
New Delhi : India and Britain are set to take their economic ties to new heights during the week-long visit of Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, to the country that begins Sunday.
“India is fast becoming one of the great powerhouses of the global economy and the UK recognises the importance of maintaining and developing our economic links,” said Prince Andrew, who is coming to India as Britain’s special representative for international trade and investment.
“It has been a couple of years since I was last in India, and I always very much look forward to my visits here,” he said.
Andrew, 46, son of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, will meet Ashwani Kumar, minister of state for industry and commerce, and will also be the guest of honour at the Queen’s birthday party, which will be hosted by British High Commissioner to India, Sir Richard Stagg, said a statement from the British high commission here.
Besides the capital, he will also visit Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore and meet leading industrialists to discuss fresh business opportunities.
Prince Andrew comes here less than two months after British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s visit to India that saw an intensification of Indo-British ties across the spectrum.
India is now the third largest investor in Britain and over 500 Indian companies have opened offices there.
More than 1.5 million people of Indian origin living in Britain have acted as a driver for the steady expansion of the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
British companies are eyeing India’s burgeoning telecom and infrastructure sectors.
Britain attracts about 60 percent of Indian investment to Europe and provides Indian business a gateway to the European market.