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Britain plans to actively engage with the Gujarat Government, in a major reversal of its foreign policy, which had seen the country shun any engagement with the State.
British Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire, who took over a portfolio which includes India in October, said that he had called on the British High Commissioner in New Delhi to visit Narendra Modi, Gujarat Chief Minister, and other senior officials in the State government.
“This will allow us to discuss a wide range of issues of mutual interest and to explore opportunities for closer cooperation, in line with the British Government’s stated objective of improving bilateral relations with India,” he said.
He added that Britain had a “wide range of interests” – including justice for families of British nationals killed in 2002, promoting human rights and good governance in the State, as well as providing support for British nationals who lived and worked there.
“We will consider in the light of the High Commissioner’s visit how best to take forward our relationship with Gujarat.”
As recently as this summer Britain had stuck to its policy of non-engagement. In May then India Minister Jeremy Browne said that Britain’s decision not to include Gujarat in the expansion of its diplomatic posts in India was linked to its decision not to engage with Modi
In a statement on his Web site, Modi welcomed the latest decision, and said it would help both Britain and Gujarat in “various areas.”
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