West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has called on the UK to invest in her state stating that “backlogs and red tape are gone”. In reference to the progress made by the Trinamool Congress government over the last four years, she said “If there is a vision, there is a mission...(otherwise) there will be no action plan also”.
“If you say London is the (financial) capital of the world, I say Bengal is the human capital of the world,” she said in her address at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on Monday evening.
A gala Bengal-themed cultural evening planned at the Natural History Museum in London on Tuesday evening was modified into a “creative musical homage” in memory of Kalam but later also cancelled as no official musical events are allowed during a state mourning period.
A reception to be hosted by the Indian high commissioner to the UK, Ranjan Mathai, in honour of the West Bengal chief minister and her 62-member delegation on Wednesday has been cancelled following former President Abdul Kalam’s demise.
Floral tributes to Rabindranath Tagore, at his statue in Gordon Square in central London, and Mahatma Gandhi’s statue at Parliament Square on Tuesday and a closed-door business meeting were on the West Bengal chief minister’s itinerary.
Meanwhile, the Mamata Banerjee-led delegation to the UK has already clinched 21 MoUs with the UK in the fields of industry, health, education and urban development.
The agreements were signed on Monday during a bilateral meeting with Britain’s Minister of State for Employment and British Prime Minister David Cameron’s Indian Diaspora champion Priti Patel at a reception hosted at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).
“This is a landmark visit... These MoUs will help bring the UK and West Bengal ever closer, and unleash the potential of our relationship,” Patel said in her address.
“For 34 years, West Bengal languished under Communist rule. The state had tremendous potential, but that potential remained unfulfilled... I am delighted to say that things are changing fast. Today, West Bengal is on the move.
“Under Mamata Banerjee’s leadership the state is enjoying a renaissance and its potential is beginning to be realized,” said the Indian-origin minister, who had accompanied Cameron to Kolkata in 2013.
“The Prime Minister was impressed. It was clear to him this was a state and a Chief Minister that we could do business with. That’s why he invited you (Banerjee) to visit London,” she said on behalf of the British Prime Minister, who is on a tour of South East Asia.
Earlier, Cameron in a letter to Banerjee wrote: “I am sorry that my travel plans mean I will not be in London to see you in person. Our relationship with India is a priority for the UK and we look forward to welcoming your Prime Minister to the UK later this year.”
On Cameron’s letter, Banerjee said: “21 MoU’s are a good sign of Britain’s partnership with Bengal. I thank him for his good wishes.” On Tuesday, the West Bengal government assured British investors that it has taken steps to bring down labour strikes to zero, as it made a strong pitch <g data-gr-id="74">to attract</g> investments. “We are putting systems in place. There has been a radical shift since <g data-gr-id="73">2010-11,</g> when 7.6 lakh work days were lost (due to labour strikes). By 2013, the number of working days lost came down to zero. It takes time for mindsets to change but please come to Bengal and we can assure clear worker management processes,” state Finance Minister Amit Mitra said.