Britain's international trade minister Nigel Huddleston has said that he want to use his first official trip to Kolkata to show the UK's eagerness to work with India and Bangladesh on shared challenges like climate change, using collective expertise to deepen trading relationship, spark economic growth and create jobs.

Huddleston arrived in Kolkata on Monday on a two-day visit to the metropolis. In Kolkata, he will unveil a package of partnerships on electric mobility and green construction at a joint session with the government of West Bengal, the UK government said.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said Huddleston is on a three-day visit to South Asia, which covers Kolkata and also Dhaka in Bangladesh, focused on unlocking more opportunities for British companies to grow trade and two-way business flows.

It added that while the UK continues to negotiate a free trade agreement (FTA) with India, which has completed 10 rounds of negotiations, the ministerial visit forms part of a wider ambition to at least double bilateral trade by 2030 – which currently stands at GBP 36 billion. With Bangladesh, UK trade has increased 50 per cent in current prices to hit nearly GBP 5 billion.

"The UK has a strong and enduring relationship with India and Bangladesh. Our trade with both has grown significantly over the past year, which shows our partnerships are reaching new heights,” said Huddleston.

"I want to use my first official visit here to show the UK’s eagerness to work with both countries on shared challenges like climate change, using our collective expertise to deepen our trading relationship, spark economic growth, and create jobs,” he said.

While in Kolkata, the minister will announce a new project that will see the UK and West Bengal join forces on a pilot to develop electric two-wheelers, such as motorcycles or scooters. West Bengal, the sixth largest state by economic value in India with a GDP expected to reach GBP 117 million this year, has set a target of developing 1 million electric vehicles (EVs) in the next five years.

"Transport is the third biggest source of emissions in India, with road transport accounting for 90 per cent of transport emissions. India has set strong targets to boost EVs and the UK is well-placed to support this ambition by providing knowledge exchange, access to finance and technology,” DBT said.

Huddleston will also launch a centre to enhance opportunities in the EV sector by partnering Indian businesses with elite academic and industrial institutions in the UK.

He will also facilitate the signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the UK's Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and government of West Bengal on skill development in sustainable and modern methods of construction. Through these initiatives, UK businesses will be well-placed to customise and market EV technology and sustainable construction for this burgeoning market in India, DBT said.

Huddleston will also visit a waste processing company in Kolkata using cutting-edge green technologies supplied by UK business CDE Ireland to recycle construction waste into high quality, reusable sand.

At a business roundtable, the minister will speak to industry leaders on the deepening of UK and India’s economic ties, emphasising the opportunities that have already been unlocked from the UK-India Enhanced Trade Partnership.

The minister will also discuss the economic benefits of a proposed UK-India FTA, that could cut red tape, reduce tariffs, and help UK and Indian companies do more business.

In Dhaka, Huddleston will visit Intertek, a UK company supporting supply chains in Bangladesh by providing bespoke testing services, for example ensuring manufacturers meet product safety standards. This visit comes a month after the UK’s world-leading Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) came into force, making it easier for Bangladesh and other developing countries to trade with the UK.

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DBT claimed Bangladeshi exporters now benefit from simpler and more generous Rules of Origin, which means that they will be able to produce goods using components from many more countries and still export these with zero tariffs to the UK.

(Edited by : Keshav Singh Chundawat)