General

13 November, London Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, the second day of of his three-day official visit to Britain, asked industry captains to contribute to India-Britain ties since the political will of the two countries was well established. Signifying the high importance Britain attaches to Modi’s visit, Queen Elizabeth II hosted lunch in his honour on Friday. Addressing the UK-India CEOs Forum here, Modi, who on Thursday assured global investors on how welcoming India was as the preferred investment destination, on Friday said it was for industry captains to push bilateral ties with Britain as the political will of the two nations’ leadership was well established. “India and the United Kingdom are economically made for each other. This relationship has to be driven by private sector CEOs now,” Modi said. “People of UK and India are easily compatible. This is in itself is a big advantage.” British Prime Minister David Cameron, who also addressed the forum meeting, articulated a similar position at the meeting, attended by around 30 chief executives from the two sides. “We both have the political will to take our economic relationship forward,” Cameron said. The Indian prime minister, who made a series of statements and oversaw the release of several joint statements with his host Cameron on Thursday, said he was particularly keen that the global investment community participates in India’s infrastructure projects. “We want to develop our railway stations in the public-private partnership mode,” Modi said, adding: “Defence manufacturing is also the backbone of our ‘Make in India’ initiative.” Modi also said India was looking at the global stage now. “We are confidently, consistently and ceaselessly working to integrate our economy with the world,” he told the meeting, held at Lancaster House, close to Buckingham Palace. The Indian prime minister also referred to initiatives such as “Make in India” and said a special emphasis was on sprucing up infrastructure, further opening up of the economy to foreign capital, building 50 million new houses by 2022 and generating 175 GW of renewable energy. “British companies in India will be a win-win partnership for both countries.” On Thursday, deals worth $14 billion were signed by the businesses of the two countries. Following the CEOs Forum meeting, Modi arrived at Buckingham Palace where he was received by Queen Elizabeth II. She was hosting lunch for him. Her Majesty the Queen with PM @narendramodi at Buckingham Palace, the Prime Minister’s Office India tweeted. Building on the bonds of history. PM @narendra Modi calls on Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, tweeted Vikas Swarup, spokesperson for the external affairs ministry. The Indian prime minister began the day by continuing bilateral parleys with Cameron at the Chequers, the countryside retreat of the British prime minister. Modi was hosted by Cameron to a private dinner on Thursday at the Chequers and he spent the night there. During the course of his stay at the Chequers, the Indian prime Friday presented his British counterpart with specially handcrafted bookends made of wood, marble and silver. Each pair of bookends has a silver bell which symbolises inner wisdom and is engraved with a Sanskrit verse from the Bhagavad Gita along with its English rendering, an official statement said. Keeping in mind Cameron’s fondness for Robert Graves’s work on World War I, ‘Goodbye to All That’, Modi also presented to him David Omissi’s ‘Indian Voices of the Great War’. To the first lady, the Indian prime minister presented Aranmula metal mirror, a unique handicraft from Kerala, and pashmina stoles. Later on Friday evening, Modi will address around 60,000 people of Indian origin at the iconic Wembley Stadium here. This will be followed by a reception in his honour by India’s High Commissioner to Britain, Ranjan Mathai.

13 November, London Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, the second day of of his three-day official visit to Britain,