Prince Charles coming on two-day India visit

The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, accompanied by his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker-Bowles, will be on a two-day visit to India on November 8-9 as a part of a 10-day four-nation tour that will also take the couple to Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar announced on Friday.

"The visit is aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between the two nations," Kumar said.

The Prince is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discuss a wide range of issues, including that of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) which will take place in April 2018 in the UK.

"Climate change, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), economic cooperation, and other bilateral issues will also come up for discussion," the spokesperson said.

Bilateral trade between India and Britain stands at $12.19 billion. India is the third largest investor in Britain and the second largest international job creator in the in that country.

Britain is the third largest inward investor in India, with a cumulative equity investment of $24.37 billion for the period April 2000-June 2017

The India diaspora in UK is one of the largest ethnic minority communities in the country, with the 2011 census recording approximately 1.5 million people of Indian origin equating to almost 1.8 percent of the population and contributing 6 per cent of the country's GDP.

This will be the ninth visit of Prince Charles to India. He had earlier visited India in 1975, 1980, 1991, 1992, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2013.

--IANS

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