India, Britain capable of mutually rewarding business relationship: Dr Jitendra

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh holding a virtual meeting with the representatives of the British Government and officials of the British High Commission in India, on Monday.
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh holding a virtual meeting with the representatives of the British Government and officials of the British High Commission in India, on Monday.

Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Oct 19 : Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said here today that India and Britain are capable of mutually rewarding business relationship because of their shared commonalities at different levels, including cultural, social and linguistic.
In a virtual meeting with the representatives of the Government of Britain and Britain High Commission here in India, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the mutual bonds between the two nations are so intricately woven that it is far much easier to engage in collaboration and joint pursuits between the two nations. He called upon the British government to explore business opportunities and to exploit the business potential in India, particularly in the North Eastern Regions of India, specially in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic.
British officials highly appreciated the handicraft, fruit, vegetables and spices in the North Eastern States and expressed their willingness to brand them and sell the same in the global market. They said that Britain is a pioneer in Agri-Tech and could explore setting up cold chains in the region on the lines of what they did in Haryana for processing of food products.
Dr Jitendra Singh welcomed the British Council proposal for collaboration in the Education Sector for teaching Science and Mathematics in all the eight States of the region and an MoU will be signed soon with the North Eastern Council to take the collaboration to a new high. The Council also expressed willingness to work with Universities and Tech institutes of the region, mainly IIT Guwahati.
The Minister said that North Eastern Region has a special role to play in the promotion of trade and business relations with ASEAN as it is the gateway to the growing economies of South East Asian Nations. He said, Prime Minister Modi had changed the policy of “Look East ” to “Act East” to take the multilateral cooperation to newer heights.
Referring to the connectivity issues, Dr.Jitendra Singh said that in the last six years, there has been a significant development in terms of Road, Rail and Air connectivity, helping facilitate the movement of goods and persons not only across the region but also across the country. He recalled that the Indo-Bangladesh treaty for exchange of enclaves, which was accomplished under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has cleared the decks for ease of business, ease of movement and ease of commuting, which was earlier a tedious task. He said that very soon we are also going to have a train to Bangladesh from Tripura heralding a new chapter and opening new vistas in the development of this region by providing the entire region access to the seaports. He also underlined the continued focus of the Indian Government to explore the alternate modes of transport that is Inland Waterways (from Brahmaputra to Bay of Bengal) connecting with other countries of the region as a cheaper option for trade, business and transportation. He said this will boost the trade across the borders especially with our eastern neighbours by leaps and bounds.