There is a sustained high level of ministerial commitment to improving the UK’s trade relations with India. The annual Prime Ministers' summit agenda has a significant trade and investment content. Completion of the Doha development round, further liberalisation of Indian markets and support for UK companies bidding for business in India are recurrent features of all ministerial interaction with Indian counterparts. The next bilateral business event focusing on investment is due to take place in India in the autumn of 2007 as part of the Prime Minister’s visit. To coincide with the Chancellor's visit to India, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry was accompanied by a 150-strong business delegation to the Joint Economic Trade Committee (JETC) meeting in New Delhi in January 2007. Business-led working groups are addressing the barriers and opportunities in India in sectors of importance including financial and professional services, infrastructure and health care.
The Chancellor announced the increase in UK Trade and Investment's support to the Indo British Partnership Network (IBPN) by providing funding of £1 million a year. In addition, UKTI is increasing its level of resource to India, both by adding new staff to commercial sections and by recruiting a number of business advisers in the UK to assist firms looking to trade with high growth markets such as India. India features as a priority for all the sectoral support activities undertaken by UKTI. The English regions and all the devolved administrations are also actively promoting business opportunities.