 "Theresa May")
United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May will undertake a three-day visit to India from November 6 to 8, her first bilateral visit outside Europe.
The visit comes at the backdrop of Britain's exit from the European Union and London is keen to enhance trade links with countries like India. (Read More: Theresa May to visit India in November)
May will be joined on her visit by her International Trade Secretary Liam Fox.
Here are the 4 points which explain PM May's agenda in India:
1) India-UK Strategic Partnership review: May will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and review all aspects of the India-UK Strategic Partnership during her visit.
India and the United Kingdom upgraded their bilateral relationship to that of a strategic partnership in September 2004. In 2010, during then British prime minister David Cameron's visit to India, the foundation for an 'Enhanced Partnership for the Future' was laid. During PM Modi's visit to UK in November last year, ties were further enhanced with the release of a Vision Statement setting out the fundamental principles of the UK-India partnership.
Under the enhanced relationship, both sides envisaged institutionalised dialogues on matters of peace and security, and greater economic and commercial relations.
2) Free trade agreement: Earlier in October, while addressing the Conservative party conference, PM May said: "Countries, including Canada, China, India, Mexico, Singapore, and South Korea, have already told us they would welcome talks on future free trade agreements. And we have already agreed to start scoping discussions on trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand."
With Britain's economic future uncertain over doubts regarding continued access to the EU's single market, the UK, which ranked 18th in the list of India’s top 25 trading partners in 2014-15, will heavily focus on trade during PM May's visit.
As reported earlier, the Joint Economic and Trade Committee meeting will be held on the sidelines of her visit.
3) Focus on small businesses: PM May will also be accompanied by a delegation of representatives from small- and mid-size businesses.
According to a report in The Guardian, while speaking about the way the UK trade delegation will approach issues, PM May said: "We will be focusing on small and medium-sized businesses, and, importantly, the delegation will include representation from every region of the UK."
4) Post-Brexit assurance: According to moneycontrol.com, British High Commissioner Dominic Asquith told a TV news channel that PM May's visit is also about signalling that "there are certain things that are not going to change as a result of Brexit".
Major Indian corporates like Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and Tata Steel have been worried over the impact of UK's exit from the EU on their businesses.
In the case of Infosys, as reported earlier, uncertainties linked to Brexit and low visibility were two of the reasons for it to reduce its revenue growth targets for FY17.
Vishal Sikka, chief executive officer, Infosys, said, "As we look ahead to the future clearly, Brexit is something that many banks are worried about and so forth. In the near term, we don't know how this will play out and so forth. So, given the visibility, we lowered our forecast."
