London, Mar 12 (PTI) The Consulate General of India (CGI) in Manchester is celebrating its first anniversary since its launch by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar last March with a major summit to showcase the investment opportunities on offer for Indian businesses in northern England.
The first-of-its-kind ‘India - Northern England Opportunity Summit’ on March 20 will bring together policymakers, entrepreneurs and industry experts from both countries for a day of high-impact dialogue and partnerships.
It comes at an important stage of the bilateral economic partnership, set to be significantly enhanced as the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) moves towards implementation by next month.
“This summit positions Manchester as a strategic gateway for Indian businesses expanding into the UK and Europe, creating a powerful corridor for investment, partnerships, and cross-border growth," said Consul General Vishakha Yaduvanshi.
The summit, in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Manchester India Partnership (MIP), will be held at the city’s famous Old Trafford stadium – the home ground of the Manchester United football team.
CGI Manchester said it expects the insights from these wide-ranging discussions will help shape dynamic two-way trade, technology, talent and innovation connections across the North England corridor.
At the Manchester Consulate’s launch in March 2025, EAM Jaishankar had expressed the hope that it would “spur more trade and investment and education and technology-related activities, and most of all, we know that it will be an important step in a deeper partnership with the United Kingdom”.
The investment summit comes as the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is progressing at speed through its parliamentary ratification process in Britain.
“I emphasise that every region and nation will benefit from this deal, including a 210 million pounds boost for the north-west (of England), driven by aerospace and automotive wins,” Lord Jason Stockwood, Minister of State in the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), told Parliament earlier this month.
The latest DBT statistics log bilateral trade at 47.2 billion pounds in the past year, up 15 per cent year on year, making India the country's 11th-largest trading partner.
These figures are expected to be boosted by around 25.5 billion pounds a year by 2040 following the implementation of the CETA this year.