UK investment minister Dominic Johnson to visit Pune

Lord Dominic Johnson, the UK's Minister for Investment, is currently on a visit to India to boost the bilateral investment partnership between the two countries, particularly in the technology and life sciences sectors.

After visiting Bengaluru, Johnson is set to visit Pune to meet with investors and leading Indian businesses such as Infosys and Zensar to drum up investor interest in the UK, according to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).

India is a "priority market" for the UK, with the UK-India investment partnership supporting over half a million jobs. Total trade between the two countries was worth 34 billion pounds in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022.

The UK and India are currently negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) and the minister's visit comes as the ninth round of negotiations got underway between the officials on both sides this week.

Earlier this week, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told a business gathering that his Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch had been "hard at work" to make progress on the FTA discussions.

"It is fantastic to be in India again visiting the vibrant cities of Pune and Bengaluru to find out how our strong cultural and economic ties mean investors and business leaders continue to choose the UK," said Johnson.

He visited Mumbai and New Delhi in October last year when he met with investors and businesses including Apollo Hospitals, Prodapt and Wockhardt.

"From life sciences to AI [artificial intelligence], now is the time to invest in the UK as we are determined to be the undisputed number one investment destination in Europe," he said.