UK to focus on trade, education, sports with India

Jalandhar, May 27 (UNI) To strengthen ties with India in the field of education, trade and sports, a delegation from United Kingdom headed by Member of Parliament Pat MacFadden today visited Punjab.

Addressing a press confernece at the NRI Sabha office here, Wolverhampton South-East MP Pat MacFadden, who was accompanied by Labour Councillor from Graiseley Elias Mattu, said that the UK's Wolverhampton-India Project would focus on increasing trade with India in view of the last year's eight billion Pounds trade between the two countries.

He said that 60 per cent of India's investment in Europe was in UK and it was expected to increase further in view of the globalisation.

He said,''Most of the trade between the two countries is in the fields of automotives, pharmaceuticals, textiles, IT and software and is growing in both directions to make most of the globalisation.'' In the field of education, Mr McFadden, who is visiting India for the second time, said that on the initiative of the British Council, a UK-India Education Research Initiative has been launched in Punjab under which teachers from Wolverhampton had already visited four schools in Jalandhar and two in Chandigarh and the same would be reciprocated by India in October this year.

He disclosed that he along with the delegation is meeting the Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal tomorrow to discuss cooperation in education between both the countries as Mr Badal has special interest in this field.

To give boost to sports, the delegation would be signing an agreement with JCT Mills, Phagwara, tomorrow for the promotion of football, he added.

UNI DP PS JS1922