MUMBAI: British Prime Minister David Cameron is seeking a special relationship between Britain and India, one that goes beyond business.
Kicking off his India visit, Cameron said India will be one of the leading nations in this century and Britain wanted to be its partner of choice. He was speaking at the head office of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), the Indian subsidiary of Unilever, where an announcement was made regarding an investment of 50 million euros (approximately Rs 360 crore) in the Anglo Dutch consumer goods multinational's first Asian aerosol deodorant manufacturing facility in Khamgaon, Maharashtra.
"I want Britain and India to have a very special relationship. India's rise is going to be one of the big phenomena of the century and it is incredibly impressive to see the vibrancy of your democracy, the great strength of the diversity of your country and the enormous power of your economy that is going to be one of the top three economies by 2030. That's why I'm here. Britain wants to be your partner of choice," Cameron said, while addressing HUL employees on Monday morning.
Britain is the biggest European investor in India while India puts half of its investment in Europe into Britain. Stressing on taking the ties between the two countries beyond business, Cameron said Britain would be keen to assist India in setting up universities, on meeting its target of doubling its spend on health as a percentage of its GDP as also in building a corridor between Mumbai and Bangalore.
"We think there are huge ties obviously of history, language, culture and business, but we think we have only just started on this sort of partnership which we could build. Yes, it's a partnership about business but it should go way beyond business. I've brought some of the best businesses here to India, but we have also brought the Premier League, top universities and the British museum. We want to tie up in so many different ways," said Cameron, while adding this is a relationship about the future and not the past.
"As far as I'm concerned, the sky is the limit," he said.
Beyond business, Cameron said it is also about culture and diplomacy. "We both face the challenge of terrorism and we want to meet the challenge of fighting terrorists together," said Cameron.
While Cameron fielded questions from Leverites on topics ranging from sustainability, environment and diversity, Cameron specifically said, "It's great to be visiting Unilever's Indian headquarters today — more than 120 years since Sunlight soap, one of Unilever's earliest products, was first exported from Britain to India. Unilever is a shining example of how a business with British roots can succeed in India and beyond and I'm delighted to hear they're expanding further, investing over £40 million in a new manufacturing plant in Khamgaon to service the emerging Indian and South Asian markets."
"Today's announcement is another example of our commitment to cater to our growth in India. It will enable us to better serve consumers with innovation and green technology, as well as improve service levels to our retail customers," said Nitin Paranjpe, MD & CEO, HUL.
Britain wants to be India’s partner of choice: UK PM
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Britain wants to be India’s partner of choice: UK PM
