IANS
LONDON, NOVEMBER 13
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, the second day of of his three-day official visit to Britain, asked industry captains to contribute to India-Britain ties since the political will of the two countries was well established.
Signifying the high importance Britain attaches to Modi’s visit, Queen Elizabeth II hosted lunch in his honour on Friday.
Addressing the UK-India CEOs Forum here, Modi, who on Thursday assured global investors on how welcoming India was as the preferred investment destination, on Friday said it was for industry captains to push bilateral ties with Britain as the political will of the two nations’ leadership was well established.
“India and the United Kingdom are economically made for each other. This relationship has to be driven by private sector CEOs now,” Modi said.
“People of UK and India are easily compatible. This is in itself is a big advantage.”
British Prime Minister David Cameron, who also addressed the forum meeting, articulated a similar position at the meeting, attended by around 30 chief executives from the two sides. “We both have the political will to take our economic relationship forward,” Cameron said.
The Indian prime minister, who made a series of statements and oversaw the release of several joint statements with his host Cameron on Thursday, said he was particularly keen that the global investment community participates in India’s infrastructure projects.
“We want to develop our railway stations in the public-private partnership mode,” Modi said, adding: “Defence manufacturing is also the backbone of our ‘Make in India’ initiative.”
Modi also said India was looking at the global stage now. “We are confidently, consistently and ceaselessly working to integrate our economy with the world,” he told the meeting, held at Lancaster House, close to Buckingham Palace.
The Indian prime minister also referred to initiatives such as “Make in India” and said a special emphasis was on sprucing up infrastructure, further opening up of the economy to foreign capital, building 50 million new houses by 2022 and generating 175 GW of renewable energy.
“British companies in India will be a win-win partnership for both countries.”
On Thursday, deals worth $14 billion were signed by the businesses of the two countries.
Following the CEOs Forum meeting, Modi arrived at Buckingham Palace where he was received by Queen Elizabeth II. She was hosting lunch for him.
“Her Majesty the Queen with PM @narendramodi at Buckingham Palace,” the Prime Minister’s Office India tweeted.
“Building on the bonds of history. PM @narendra Modi calls on Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” tweeted Vikas Swarup, spokesperson for the external affairs ministry.
Indian prime minister began the day by continuing bilateral parleys with Cameron at the Chequers, the countryside retreat of the British prime minister. Modi was hosted by Cameron to a private dinner on Thursday at the Chequers and he spent the night there.
During the course of his stay at the Chequers, the Indian prime Friday presented his British counterpart with specially handcrafted bookends made of wood, marble and silver.
Each pair of bookends has a silver bell which symbolises inner wisdom and is engraved with a Sanskrit verse from the Bhagavad Gita along with its English rendering, an official statement said.
Keeping in mind Cameron’s fondness for Robert Graves’s work on World War I, ‘Goodbye to All That’, Modi also presented to him David Omissi’s ‘Indian Voices of the Great War’.
To the first lady, the Indian prime minister presented Aranmula metal mirror, a unique handicraft from Kerala, and pashmina stoles.
Later on Friday evening, Modi will address around 60,000 people of Indian origin at the iconic Wembley Stadium here.
The British newspapers on Friday published a barrage of critical reports on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s U.K. visit. Photo via Twitter
Despite the day before filled with bilateral agreements, business meetings, and a speech in the U.K. Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would have woken up to a barrage of critical reports in British newspapers on Friday.
Practically every newspaper, from the The Guardian to The Times, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph and The Independent played the bilateral talks as secondary to concerns over Mr. Modi’s past when he was ‘persona non grata’ for the U.K.
“Pomp and ceremony for an ex-pariah” ran the harsh headline in the Daily Telegraph, which also carried a front-page photograph with the header “All is forgiven, Mr. Modi”, while The Times story began, “Britain will continue to pursue stronger ties with India despite Narendra Modi’s record on human rights, David Cameron insisted.” The Guardian ran the headline, “High security and Cameron’s praise for persona non grata Modi.”
After the 2002 riots in Gujarat, as then Chief Minister, Mr. Modi was never banned from visiting the U.K. and had even visited London in 2003, as he clarified himself on Thursday. However, the U.K. did pursue a policy of ‘non-engagement’ with him until 2012, demanding action against the guilty after three British tourists were killed during the riots. In 2005, Mr. Modi had cancelled a visit to London after then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had called him over British government’s concerns for his security.
Answering two hostile questions from the British media after his meeting with Mr. Cameron, Mr. Modi said “The U.K. has never stopped me from coming. Perhaps I couldn’t come because of my own time constraints.”
However, The Independent, that repeated the ‘persona non grata’ comment despite the Mr. Modi’s clarification, called the move to re-engage with Mr. Modi, “diplomatically the right move”. In an editorial, it wrote that “Britain must raise the issue of human rights”, but added the rider that “Whatever Britain does it must do so with candour and sincerity. India does not wish to be lectured or patronised; it wants to be treated with respect. However, The Independent also ran a cartoon, that would be considered shocking (even libellous) in India that showed Mr. Modi speaking to Mr. Cameron about ‘blood on my hands’, with the statue of Mahatma Gandhi looking on.
When asked by The Hindu if all the criticism was unprecedented, commentators said it wasn’t unusual, as British newspapers are known for their rough treatment of their own leadership. “We are a democratic society, and while I disagree with the criticism and the protestors, I can only say they have a right to say what they feel. However, the welcome he gets at Wembley on Friday should answer any critics,” said local leader Mayuri Parmar, who is a member of the Conservative Party, as well as an organiser of the event.
Mr. Modi will address the crowd of 60,000 people, the biggest such welcome for any leader in London, after lunch with Queen Elizabeth II.
In a rare and royal moment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on Friday and had the pleasure of sharing a private lunch with her highness.
In a rare show of royal diplomacy, he was welcomed by the Queen inside the Palace and was seen having a casual chat with her before the lunch.
Following this, the Prime Minister will head to the iconic Wembley Stadium for his ‘rockstar’ event where he is set to woo the 60,000 strong Indian diaspora waiting to greet him.
Besides the scheduled performances of pop star Jay Sean and hitmaker ‘Baby Doll’ singer Kanika Kapoor, a lot of classical, folk art and contemporary music performances are also lined up.
The rally will be capped off with ‘the biggest fireworks display in the whole country’, according to the ‘UK Welcomes Modi’ website and British Prime Minister will also be present at the community reception.
Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi and Cameron attended the India-UK CEOs Forum meeting at Lancaster House in No. 11, Downing here.
The meeting saw the attendance of 40 top Indian and British business leaders, including those from Rolls Royce and Vodafone.
While Prime Minister Modi has begun the second day of his three-day visit, deals worth nearly 9.2 billion pounds have already been announced, which include 28 business-to-business agreements.
Prime Minister Modi arrived in the United Kingdom yesterday on a three day visit. He has since had delegation-level talks, addressed the British Parliament and the City of London, met representatives of the Sikh community and paid homage before a statue of Mahatma Gandhi.
