Trivandrum: Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today inaugurated ‘The UK in Kerala Week’ in Thiruvananthapuram. This event is being organised by the British Deputy High Commissioner for Kerala and Karnataka, Chandru Iyer.
During this period, Iyer and his team from British Deputy High Commission in Bangalore will be meeting government officials, businesspersons, start-ups, tourism, schools & universities, sportspersons, and theatre & civil society representatives in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi to further strengthen the UK’s engagement with Kerala.
The CM also launched the ‘India x UK Alive with Opportunity’ campaign, designed to showcase the tremendous bond between our countries and further build on the continuous exchange of people, ideas and culture.
Later, briefing the media, Iyer said: “India and the UK have a broad and deep relationship already. Today, more than 900 Indian businesses operate in the UK, and more than 600 UK businesses finding success in India. Our dynamic business relationship supports more than half a million jobs across both countries. What makes the UK-India relationship truly unique is our Living Bridge which includes a 1.6 million-strong Indian diaspora in the UK, connects our countries and people across culture, education, food, sport and more.”
Education is one of the mainstays of the Living Bridge between the UK and India. Indian students make up one of the UK’s largest groups of international students. While Skilled Worker visa grants to main applicants have risen by 59% in the past year. From 2019-2023, the British Council provided scholarships worth £7.54m to Indian students.
“I am delighted to talk about the Alive with Opportunity campaign today, which is designed to showcase the tremendous bond between our countries and further build on the continuous exchange of people, ideas and culture. As part of the UK’s ambitions to double trade with India by 2030, this campaign aims to stimulate interest and demand for UK goods and services, increase the UK’s ability to grow their business through trade with India and attract new Indian inward investment. Over the course of this year and next, you can expect to see a celebration of the business, trade, cultural, and sporting links between the UK and India across our engagements”, he added.
Senior officials from the British Deputy High Commission in Bangalore were present.
Kerala Biz News