Inspired Question · S4W-18684 · Session 4
What information it can provide regarding the Minister for External Affairs and International Development’s recent visit to India and Pakis…
The question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it can provide regarding the Minister for External Affairs and International Development’s recent visit to India and Pakistan.
The answer
I travelled to Delhi and Mumbai from 11-16 October 2013, where I undertook an intensive programme of meetings and engagements to strengthen business, education, cultural, tourism and government ties with India.
Key engagements included welcoming the Queen’s baton to India on the first leg of its journey round the Commonwealth and hosting a business roundtable with key Indian investors to discuss opportunities for future partnerships between India and Scotland.
Significant business announcements included: an agreement between Scottish technology company Dryden Aqua and Indian firm SVS Aqua to help improve the supply of clean drinking water in arsenic-affected water-stressed regions in India; the construction of a new £6.5 million whisky distillery in Glenrothes, creating 15 jobs and generating a predicted £3.6 million in new exports to India, Africa and the Far East, in a partnership between Indian beverages group Kyndal and John Fergus and Co Ltd; and a distribution agreement between Perthshire-based company this-tel and Indian-based IT company Crane Global Solutions Ltd for its digital pen and associated e-health technology that will initially be sold into the Indian healthcare sector following a successful trial in a cancer hospital in Hyderabad and is expected to generate £4.6 million in exports.
I also undertook a number of media interviews with the leading business and financial newspapers in India in both cities which led to an extensive coverage of my visit and helped position Scotland as a business destination for both trade as well as investment.
Building on solid collaboration between India and Scotland in education, I hosted a reception for Indian alumni of Scottish Universities to encourage them to become advocates for Scotland. I also attended a British Council-UKIERI Showcase of 42 partnerships between Scotland and Indian educational institutes and witnessed the signing of an agreement between Coatbridge College and the Indian Healthcare Sector Skills Council which will introduce formal regulation of dental nursing to India, alongside National Occupational Standards.
Building Scotland’s bi-lateral relationship with the India Government, I held meetings with the equivalent of Permanent Secretaries of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (Education).
Encouraging Indian tourists to visit Scotland, I attended a graduation ceremony for Indian travel agents who had completed Visit Scotland’s “Scotsagent programme”.
Cementing Scotland and India’s burgeoning cultural relationship, I announced the line-up of talented Indian musicians who will perform at next year’s Celtic Connections. I also highlighted Scotland’s influence on the unique restoration of a UNESCO world heritage site during a visit to the Nizamuddin urban renewal initiative in Delhi.
I visited Lahore in Pakistan from 17 to 18 October 2013, the first Scottish Government Ministerial visit to Pakistan. The strategic aim of the visit was to highlight the links between Scotland and Pakistan and to develop a closer bilateral relationship.
I undertook a number of political meetings including with Punjab Chief Minister Sharif, Punjab Governor Sarwar and the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, to discuss how Scotland and Pakistan can work together to increase links especially in the energy and education sectors.
I attended a ceremony marking the arrival of the Queen’s Baton Relay in Pakistan, providing an opportunity to highlight the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the existing links between our two countries. This event was well attended and received wide media coverage.
I met with a delegation from the Christian community to hear first-hand the issues the Christian community is facing in Pakistan and to offer our support to them, in line with work I have been undertaking in Scotland to bring communities together.
In support of our South Asia development programme, I hos
Key engagements included welcoming the Queen’s baton to India on the first leg of its journey round the Commonwealth and hosting a business roundtable with key Indian investors to discuss opportunities for future partnerships between India and Scotland.
Significant business announcements included: an agreement between Scottish technology company Dryden Aqua and Indian firm SVS Aqua to help improve the supply of clean drinking water in arsenic-affected water-stressed regions in India; the construction of a new £6.5 million whisky distillery in Glenrothes, creating 15 jobs and generating a predicted £3.6 million in new exports to India, Africa and the Far East, in a partnership between Indian beverages group Kyndal and John Fergus and Co Ltd; and a distribution agreement between Perthshire-based company this-tel and Indian-based IT company Crane Global Solutions Ltd for its digital pen and associated e-health technology that will initially be sold into the Indian healthcare sector following a successful trial in a cancer hospital in Hyderabad and is expected to generate £4.6 million in exports.
I also undertook a number of media interviews with the leading business and financial newspapers in India in both cities which led to an extensive coverage of my visit and helped position Scotland as a business destination for both trade as well as investment.
Building on solid collaboration between India and Scotland in education, I hosted a reception for Indian alumni of Scottish Universities to encourage them to become advocates for Scotland. I also attended a British Council-UKIERI Showcase of 42 partnerships between Scotland and Indian educational institutes and witnessed the signing of an agreement between Coatbridge College and the Indian Healthcare Sector Skills Council which will introduce formal regulation of dental nursing to India, alongside National Occupational Standards.
Building Scotland’s bi-lateral relationship with the India Government, I held meetings with the equivalent of Permanent Secretaries of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (Education).
Encouraging Indian tourists to visit Scotland, I attended a graduation ceremony for Indian travel agents who had completed Visit Scotland’s “Scotsagent programme”.
Cementing Scotland and India’s burgeoning cultural relationship, I announced the line-up of talented Indian musicians who will perform at next year’s Celtic Connections. I also highlighted Scotland’s influence on the unique restoration of a UNESCO world heritage site during a visit to the Nizamuddin urban renewal initiative in Delhi.
I visited Lahore in Pakistan from 17 to 18 October 2013, the first Scottish Government Ministerial visit to Pakistan. The strategic aim of the visit was to highlight the links between Scotland and Pakistan and to develop a closer bilateral relationship.
I undertook a number of political meetings including with Punjab Chief Minister Sharif, Punjab Governor Sarwar and the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, to discuss how Scotland and Pakistan can work together to increase links especially in the energy and education sectors.
I attended a ceremony marking the arrival of the Queen’s Baton Relay in Pakistan, providing an opportunity to highlight the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the existing links between our two countries. This event was well attended and received wide media coverage.
I met with a delegation from the Christian community to hear first-hand the issues the Christian community is facing in Pakistan and to offer our support to them, in line with work I have been undertaking in Scotland to bring communities together.
In support of our South Asia development programme, I hos
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S4W-18684 by reference.