Indian Business Leaders Keen to Return to Birmingham Following Successful Talks

June 24 2008

INDIAN business leaders have committed to return to Birmingham on an annual basis, following a highly successful meeting this week with Birmingham City Council leader Mike Whitby.

Following the meeting held in the International Convention Centre, members of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) are eager to build business relations and to support trade and investment between the city of Birmingham and the West Midlands and India.

The meeting was held hot on the heels of the Indian based firm Tata's £1.15bn takeover of Land Rover and Jaguar earlier this month.

Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, director general the CII was amongst the high profile delegates that came to Birmingham.

Mike Whitby said: 'We are delighted that the Confederation of Indian Industry has made a specific commitment to bring a high level delegation back to Birmingham to further develop our growing relationship on an annual basis.

'Birmingham's strong links with India play a central role in the global strategy for the development of the city. To take this relationship forward we will be creating a dedicated India desk to cement relations both with the CII and business generally. I am also committed to going to India myself to further develop our blossoming business links.'

'The Confederation of Indian Industry is one of the most prestigious business organisations in the world, and this is the first time they have ever expanded their London-based CEO conference to visit another city. To be told that this will be the first of a series of annual meetings is an excellent endorsement of the significance of Birmingham on the global stage'.

'As a city with greater global ambitions, we are very much looking forward to developing the relationship between India and Birmingham, and this seminar will provide a real boost in forging even stronger links, especially within the automotive supply chain, manufacturing and the service industries.'

'The City of Birmingham is culturally diverse, with many of our population having strong ties to India. I firmly believe these existing cultural links will be a tremendous asset when building our relationships with Indian Industry.'

The delegation was in Birmingham to meet local business representatives at the ICC, to discuss economic growth opportunities between Birmingham and India, focussing on the fields of manufacturing and service industries.

Councillor Whitby spoke to the CII delegates, and in addition Mr Tarus Dan, chief mentor for the CII, addressed delegates on ways to access economic growth. He was followed by a speech from Mr Venu Srinivasan, vice president of the CII, on manufacturing and service sector business opportunities.

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