Himachal Pradesh Pitches UK Tie-ups at Summit

London, Sep 24 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu made a pitch for cross-sector partnerships with the UK and European investors at the Indo-European Business Forum's (IBEF) annual Viksit Bharat Investment Summit in the House of Lords complex here.

Sukhu, who was also presented with IBEF's Leadership and Governance Award on Tuesday evening, said the northern Indian state, with its high literacy rate and investor-friendly policies, offered opportunities across clean energy, horticulture, IT and wellness sectors, including Ayurveda and herbal offerings.

As a year-round tourism destination, he invited travellers, entrepreneurs and innovators to witness Himachal's growth prospects first-hand.

"With 100 per cent literacy, a tradition of hard work, honesty, and resilience, our citizens are the true foundation of investors' confidence,” said Sukhu.

“While Himachal apples have already established themselves as a global brand, we are now expanding into vegetables, flowers, and high-value crops that are ready for international markets. Our focus is on natural farming and government-supported dairy initiatives, which open new doors for innovation and collaboration,” he said.

British Indian ministers recently appointed to their portfolios – Seema Malhotra as Minister for the Indo-Pacific in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and Kanishka Narayan as Minister for Artificial Intelligence and Online Safety in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) – addressed the summit against the backdrop of the recently concluded India-UK Free Trade Agreement.

"This year has been a landmark year for our partnership as in July, our Prime Ministers [Keir Starmer and Narendra Modi] came together to sign a historic trade deal. It marks a huge leap forward that will unlock many billions of pounds in terms of new exports, investment and create those many thousands of jobs across the UK,” said Malhotra.

Narayan noted: “As the Minister for AI and Online Safety, there is a very specific future for us to chase together… I feel the UK and India have huge amounts both to share in terms of particular examples, in terms of the talent we have unparalleled across the world, but most fundamentally, in terms of the values that we have in shaping the future of technology.”

The annual summit, hosted in the House of Lords by Baroness Sandy Verma, not only highlighted the recently concluded India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) poised to double bilateral trade over the next decade, but also the ongoing trade negotiations between India and the European Union, in the final stages of completion this year.

“This is not just about reducing tariffs. It is about unlocking opportunities across textiles, renewable energy, defence, education, IT, and retail. Together, we can redefine economic partnerships for the 21st century,” said IEBF Founder Vijay Goel.

Among some of the other IBEF awards handed out were a Global Changemaker Award for Social Impact for Neerja Birla, founder and chairperson of the Aditya Birla Education Trust, and Green Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Sandip Sali, founder of UK-based renewable energy firm VoltX Power Ltd.