British Prime Minister David Cameron sought a ‘special relationship’ between India and the UK as he kickstarted his three-day visit here on Monday.
“I want Britain and India to have a special relationship. This is a relationship about the future and not the past,” said the British Prime Minister while addressing business leaders and workers of Hindustan Unilever Limited, the Indian subsidiary of British consumer company Unilever.
Leading one of the biggest-ever business delegation to India, Cameron pitched the idea of a Mumbai-Bangalore corridor as highway to success for both India and the UK.
According to him, the UK could help boost India’s economy by building infrastructure that could link cities both within Maharashtra and also other states. Cameron pitched the idea of a 1000-km long Mumbai-Bangalore corridor which would lead to generating investment projects worth $25 billion.
“With me I’ve got architects, planners and finance experts who can work out the complete solution,” he said.
Cameron said that the project could transform lives and put British businesses in prime position to secure valuable commercial deals. Later in the day, Cameron also held a meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, where the two spoke at length on the Mumbai-Bangalore corridor and other issues.
The British PM sounded upbeat about India’s growth as he described it as a ‘great phenonmenon’ of the century.
He referred to India as an emerging power house and predicted that India would be one of the top three economies by 2030.
“I am heading the biggest-ever business delegation to leave the British shores,” he said.
The high-level delegation accompanying the British PM has CEOs of leading British corporates, vice-chancellors of reputed universities, architects, town planners and financial experts.
“India’s rise is going to be one of the greatest phenomenon of the century and it is incredibly impressive to see the vibrancy of your democracy, the great strength of your diversity and the enormous power of your economy that is going to be one of the top three economies by 2030,” said Cameron.