PRESS RELEASE : UK-India to build closer trade and innovation partnership, during UK ministerial visit to Tamil Nadu and Gujarat [January 2024]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 8 January 2024.

Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister of State for the Middle East, South Asia, UN and the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict arrives in India today (Monday) where he will launch two new UK-funded sustainability projects.

• UK’s Minister of State, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, will visit Chennai in Tamil Nadu and Ahmedabad in Gujarat on a three-day visit to India.
• Attending the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet (TNGIM), he will announce two new UK-funded sustainability projects.
• His visit will include attendance at Vibrant Gujarat, an innovation-focused summit.

Whilst in Chennai, the Minister will launch a Heat Mitigation project alongside Tamil Nadu’s State Planning Commission. The project will provide recommendations to the Government of Tamil Nadu to address extreme heat related deaths and the loss of vital ecosystems.

With the Tamil Nadu Department of Environment and Climate Change, he will also launch an Electronic and Battery Waste Management project, which will develop a plan to reduce battery waste.

As the states of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat are two of India’s largest economies, the Minister will use his trip to highlight the strong UK-India trade partnership and explore new opportunities to collaborate, including on clean energy growth.

Lord Ahmad Minister of State for the Middle East, South Asia, UN, and the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence said:

Tamil Nadu and Gujarat are leading the way in the development of emerging technologies, and I am delighted to see first-hand British businesses pioneering innovation in the region.

During my visit I look forward to further promoting joint innovation projects alongside dynamic Indian businesses – from renewable manufacturing to financial services.  These are made possible through the close trade partnership we have between our two countries.”

Attending the TNGIM in Chennai, a flagship investment summit, Lord Ahmad will deliver a keynote speech on the success of innovative UK-India projects in climate and energy.

He will continue to showcase the sustainable success of British businesses overseas at a GREAT reception and will see first-hand how British business is supporting clean growth in India.

At the Biennial Investors’ Summit, Vibrant Gujarat, the Minister will celebrate the close ties between the UK and India through business, culture, and our great links between our peoples.

While at Vibrant Gujarat, he will witness the signing of an MoU between the UK’s Abertay University and India’s École Intuit Lab. The partnership agreement will see teaching, research and innovation expertise shared between the two organisations.

Strengthening the UK-India relationship is a key pillar of the UK’s long-term foreign policy, as part of its enduring engagement in the Indo-Pacific set out in the Integrated Review Refresh.

Further Information

• The 2030 Roadmap for India-UK future relations was launched in 2021. Since then, significant progress has been made, including on health collaboration, advancing the transition to clean energy, cyber-security cooperation and the expansion of our defence and security partnership.
• The UK Government Advanced Manufacturing Plan is supported by £4.5 billion in funding, including £3 billion for automotive and aerospace, the plan focuses on driving innovation and supporting the transition to net zero.
• Launch of UK-funded projects in Tamil Nadu: as part of the ongoing climate and energy collaboration between the UK and Tamil Nadu, notably on offshore wind, green hydrogen and forests, two new collaboration projects will be launched:
  • Heat Mitigation Strategy for Tamil Nadu Project, which will work with the Government of Tamil Nadu to develop a strategy and action plan to address extreme heat related deaths and loss of ecosystems. The project will work towards the common goals of India and UK to address pressing climate challenges, particularly climate induced extreme weather events.
  • Electronic and Battery Waste Management Project, which will work with the Government of Tamil Nadu to develop a strategy and action plan on circular economy for electronic and battery waste to address the issue of increasing e-waste, including batteries, in a leading industrial state.