Former UK trade minister Lord Davies is set to take charge of the UK India Business Council (UKIBC), the London-based NGO promoting India-UK trade ties.
Davies will take over his new post from September 1 when another former UK commerce minister Patricia Hewitt steps down as chair of UKIBC after eight years in the post.
"The UK India Business Council plays a vital and unique role, and we could and should be doing more to shape and drive a business-led agenda that benefits both countries," Davies said in a statement today.
"Businesses in both countries have always placed a high priority on the bilateral relationship. This relationship is now even more critical as Brexit becomes more of a reality," said the former banker who also chairs private equity firm Corsair Capital.
Davies was made a life peer in the House of Lords in 2009 and served as minister of state for trade, investment and small business under the Labour government between 2008 and 2010.
He has a wide range of interests, including being chairman of the Royal Academy of Arts Trustees and chairman of the Garden Bridge Trust.
"Although it is with sadness that I will be stepping down as chair, I will remain involved to support Lord Davies and I am overwhelmingly optimistic for the future of both the UKIBC and the UK-India economic relationship," said outgoing chair Hewitt.
"The last eight years have seen us grow as an organisation, and we have significantly contributed to the UK-India partnership, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described as an 'unbeatable combination'. This is an exciting point in the history of both countries, and I wish Lord Davies all the best for the coming years," Hewitt said.
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