Prime Minister Theresa May, like her predecessors have decided to make India one of her key destinations in South Asia to discuss bi-lateral trade. During her last visit with the former Prime Minister David Cameron, Mrs May was the Home Secretary and she is remembered for her comment on India's efficiency to deal with Mumbai terror strike. This time she is the Premier of the Great Britain that is home to 1.5 million of Indians. After taking up her office, she faced several challenges- the greatest being the challenges of Brexit. It is her time to prove her worth and strengthen the relationship with countries outside EU. So what is her mission in India?
India is one of the fastest growing among large economies and it is evident that Britain needs some concrete deals with non-EU countries, prior to March 2017. The Indo-British relationship is 400 years old. Since 1947, the power dynamics have shifted. As a result, potentials have not been explored to the fullest. In fact, among India's three dozen “strategic partnerships”, France remains the original one. President Jacques Chirac had a long-standing interest in India and undertook three visits to India, in 1976, 1998 and 2006, the only leader to have been chief guest at the Republic Day twice, first as Prime Minister in 1976 and then as President in 1998.
The implementation of the announcement made during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Paris in April 2015, about the decision to purchase 36 Rafale combat aircraft in a flyaway condition, was taken forward by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU). More significant were the joint ventures (JV) proposed to be set up between private sector entities in both countries that could provide a much needed boost to “Make in India” in defence. Among the emerging areas of cooperation are homeland security, cyber security, special forces like the National Security Guard and its French counterpart GIGN, and intelligence sharing to tackle the common threats of terrorism and global criminal networks. Cooperation in “strategic” areas is growing and the government-to-government relationship is the principal driver for this. French foreign direct investment has picked up and there are more than 800 French enterprises operating in India. Also while France has readily supported India's United Nations Security Council Permnanent Membership proposal and the country's counter-terrorism methods or stance, UK has remained rather vague on these subjects- making one question their real intention.
On the other hand, India-Japan and India-Germany relationships have been gradually flourishing. United States, which always been closer to Pakistan and China, after their recent interactions with PM Modi is showing a different level of interest. Mr Modi's visit to China in 2015, yielded $22bn worth of deals.
But the total Indo-British trade in the first quarter, has seen a decline of about 26%, as compared to the same period of 2015. Why? UK and India share a bigger possibility together. Yet other countries have reached India earlier and strengthened ties better. India’s importance to the economy was readily demonstrated during the crisis caused by Tata Steel’s decision to withdraw from steel manufacturing in the UK.
Big corporations in Britain are in need of skilled workers- many from non-EU countries, especially India. They have demanded a fair and lenient immigration system. But UK's frequent and erratic rule changes have resulted into a stuttering confidence. Moreover the Indian diaspora that have contributed so much to the British treasury, have hardly found right number of representation- whether it is in Quangos, or Public Life or even in the UK Government.
However, Sajid Javid's visit to India started the bilateral talks for post-Brexit deal with India. Our eyes are now set on Mrs May, to see what she does to establish a 'solid' bilateral relationship with India and we sincerely hope after all these years, she will be able to take this partnership to a different level of commitment, unlike her predecessors.
- CB
