Charles to seek better trade ties with India

Reflecting growing congruence in Indo-UK relationship, the Prince of Wales, who is arriving here tomorrow, will seek enhanced bilateral cooperation with India in diverse fields, particularly in trade and investment, education and defence.

Prince Charles will represent Queen Elizabeth II, ceremonial head of the Commonwealth, at the Opening Ceremony of the Games on Sunday.

Prince Charles, heir-to-the-throne, will meet President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and top business leaders during his five-day visit.

The Prince will be accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall. "Britain is keen to expand business ties with India.

"The Prince will seek enhanced cooperation with India in diverse fields including trade and investment, education, defence and environment," British High Commissioner Richard Stagg told reporters.

Currently, the bilateral trade volume between the two countries stands at 11 billion pounds per year and Indian investment in the UK is worth approximately 9 billion pounds.

The Prince has visited India on many occasions and has placed great emphasis on supporting and encouraging the British Indian origin community for more than 30 years, said Stagg.

The Prince will also spend time with athletes from a broad cross-section of Commonwealth countries.

"With the Duchess of Cornwall, he will take the opportunity to celebrate growing co-operation between our two countries," he said.

The Prince will also participate in IIT Delhi's Golden Jubilee.

"This is an opportunity to reaffirm the strong links between the UK and IIT Delhi, spanning back to 1959 when The Duke of Edinburgh laid the foundation stone," said Stagg.

On Monday, the Prince will leave for Chandigarh and from there he will go to Jodhpur on Tuesday.

In Chandigarh, he will launch the 'global entrepreneurship week 2010 in India'. He is also scheduled to meet local farm owners, village leaders and officials from agriculture department in Chandigarh.

In Jodhpur, the Prince will visit 12 Corps headquarters and meet senior officers.