The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that Kashmir is an inalienable and integral part of India. He was interacting with the Members of British Parliament, Mr. Dan Carden, Ms. Anna McMorrin, Ms. Preet Gill and Ms. Sarah Champion, who called on him, in New Delhi today. The Foreign Secretary of India, Dr. S Jaishankar was also present on the occasion. The Vice President conveyed his strong concerns that there was considerable misinformation about Kashmir. He said that it was purely a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan. He further said that radicalization and terror are global issues to which we have to find an effective strategy to combat it at various levels.The Vice President said that the bilateral cooperation between India and UK has reached a new high in the areas of economics and commerce, science and technology, defence, education, cyber policy, counter terrorism, sharing of intelligence. He further said that our bilateral trade at just about US$ 12.19 billion has a large potential for growth. India is the 3rd largest investor in the UK and the 2nd largest international job creator in the UK, he added.
The Vice President said that Indian government over the last three years has championed the cause of ease of doing business. He further said that India has just jumped an unprecedented 30 ranks and are placed at No. 100 in the World Bank Rankings on Ease of Doing Business. India’s flagship initiatives such as the Make in India, Digital India, 100 Smart Cities program and Housing for All by 2022 (Urban Transformation Schemes), Digital India, Start-up India, Clean India and other programmes offer unlimited business opportunities to British companies, he added.The Vice President said that India is committed to a fair implementation of the Paris Agreement based on the principles laid down in the Convention – UNFCCC – especially equity and Common but Differentiated Responsibility. He further said that an initiative of note is the International Solar Alliance, which was launched by India in partnership with France in 2015 to develop and promote solar energy. He encouraged the UK to sign and ratify the Framework Agreement of the ISA and join us for the Founding Conference as a Founding Member early next year.