BHUBANESWAR: The UK Government will bring to India a bagful of latest British technologies in a Tech Summit which is planned during November. As part of the summit’s wider roll-out, Bhubaneswar will get to host one such meet later that month, Bruce Bucknell, British Deputy High Commissioner, Kolkata said here on Thursday.
Speaking to The Express, Bucknell said the British Government has partnered with CII for the summit and it will have a very clear target audience of top tech companies, businesses and research institutions. “The summit will be an interface between people working on technologies and researches which are coming out and businesses which take it to the market,” he pointed out.
As part of the summit, a series of events would be held across the country where the UK is hopeful of finding partners for technologies that would be showcased.
Bucknell, who took charge as Deputy High Commissioner, Kolkata earlier this month and represents UK in 13 eastern and north-eastern States including Odisha, said the Bhubaneswar event is likely to be slated in later part of November. “We may be able to provide businesses and technologies which the State is looking forward to,” he pointed out.
The diplomat said the UK has done extremely well in start-up business in the last several years and it is not just in IT but other technologies too. The London hub and Cambridge technology clusters have produced some of the best start-ups.
Sharing ideas and knowledge would be a major thrust of the joint prosperity strategy of the UK with India, he said.
The UK Government, which is the largest investor among G-20 countries, has been more focused on western States of India, Bucknell said and added that it would be his endeavour to encourage more focus in eastern parts of the country.
“Are resources-rich eastern States like Odisha ready for foreign investment is what we are going to talk about with the leadership of the State,” he said.
Bucknell, who later called on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, said the UK has had long partnership with Odisha in the last 16 years through DFID for augmenting revenue collection, PSU restructuring as well as climate change.
The Deputy High Commissioner also condemned the terror attacks in India and said things can be resolved by talking, not attacking. The phenomenon of terrorism can take many forms and ways but cooperation between Britain and India on counter-terrorism in general is a long standing one.
The relationship between the two countries on cyber issues, in particular, is very close, he added.