Indian diaspora a huge asset to India-UK ties: Navtej Sarna

LONDON: The Indian diaspora in Britain is a huge asset for building India-UK relations and plays a big role in attracting foreign investment to India, the Indian High Commissioner to the UK said.

Navtej Sarna, who took over his post in London last month, was addressing a gathering of nearly a hundred representatives of different social, cultural and ethnic associations of the Indian diaspora as well as Indian-origin members of the British Parliament at a reception hosted at India House on Friday evening.

"They (diaspora) were a huge asset for building India UK relations. They were a bridge of influence that needed to be fully utilised. At the same time they had a huge role to play in assisting India's development and in helping India attract foreign investment and expertise that would help develop its infrastructure, its ports, airports and smart cities or the cleaning of the Ganga," an India House statement quoted him as saying.

Sarna described each Indian-origin community member's life journey as "A Tale of Two Countries" -- that of India and the UK and that of the 'matrabhumi' and the 'karambhumi'.

The community in the UK had flourished extensively in every field of human endeavour - economics and business, politics, culture, medicine, finance and so on.

They had acquired a political weight and strong voice and they carried influence, he said.

The career diplomat also highlighted his plans to encourage a two-way dialogue between the community members and the High Commission, which he described as an institution open to all Indians which will make every effort to resolve all concerns.

"It (India House in London) reflected Indian-ness in every inch as it had originally been built for India. All community members must feel that this is their home and they would always be welcome," the statement said.

It was announced that consular outreach is being given huge importance by the High Commission as "this aspect of diplomatic work dealt with human beings".

The UK had a high share of electronic visas that had been issued - 24 per cent since the launch of the service last year.