‘London loves India’ will be the underlying message which London Mayor Boris Johnson will carry with him as he embarks on a week-long visit to the country from November 25 to attract investment and promote trade.
He will visit Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai, and will also try to assuage concerns over a tightening visa regime for students in the UK.
During the visit, eight to 10 captains of the industry will accompany Johnson as he would explore, among others, opportunities in the retail sector where the Government of India has promised new reforms.
Answering questions on the tightening of the visa regime, particularly student visas, Johnson said some of the decisions taken on the visa system were “counter-productive” and blamed the former Labour Government for the failure of the visa regime.
“The problem was caused by the shambolic failure of the visa system under Labour that let too many illegal people to enter the country,” he told Indian journalists here.
In India, Johnson will hold discussions with the concerned chief ministers and captains of the industries particularly in the small and medium sectors. A mission from UK universities will also be in Delhi during the visit.
The issues that are likely to come up during the visit are participation of British companies in the urbanisation and modernisation of India where a $1 trillion is expected to be spent in the next five years on infrastructural development.
Besides exploring opportunities in the multi-brand retail sector, the focus will be on financial services, higher education and attracting more Indian students to UK universities.
Johnson said there has been a substantial increase in the number of Indian students studying in the UK but admitted that things could be better.
This will be the first overseas visit the Mayor will be undertaking to generate investment in London after successfully hosting the London 2012 Olympics.