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Press Release

India’s moment on the world stage has truly arrived : HE Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India

Dec 08, 2023

NEW DELHI, 09 December 2023: Addressing FICCI’s 96th Annual General Meeting and Annual Convention, on the theme- ‘Engaging with the World’s Growth Engine’, yesterday, the panel unravelled answers to an important question- ‘what is the India moment?’

The moderator, Mr Ashok Malik, Partner and Chair of the India Practice, The Asia Group, set the tone by mentioning an iconic shift that the global economic landscape is facing in today’s times, where India is poised to take the centre stage amidst rapidly changing geopolitical dynamics.

Discussing India’s opportunities and challenges with respect to the Middle East, HE Dr Abdulnasser Jamal Alshaali, Ambassador Embassy of UAE, mentioned a growing economic relationship. UAE was India’s third largest trade partner, with total non-oil bilateral trade valued at USD 72.87 billion. The two countries are exploring cooperation in newer sectors like agriculture, pharmaceutical, cloud seeding, defence and Artificial Intelligence.

HE Mr Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India emphasised on big scale transformation for a developing economy like India. He elaborated on the “India Moment” and enthused the audience with his optimism for an “India Time”. With India being the second largest investor in the UK, there has been internationalisation of our existing economic relationship with renewed focus on technology cooperation, supply chain management, expansion of export markets, he noted.

Adding to the discussion, Indonesian Ambassador HE Ms Ina Krisnamurthi celebrates the 75th anniversary of cordial India-Indonesia relations. She further emphasised that Indonesia is very supportive of India's Millets campaign and Indonesia is one of the largest importers of India's Millet. She focused on cooperation in cybersecurity, food security, hospital construction, power, textiles, machinery, banking, and consumer goods.

The Ambassador of Brazil , HE Mr Kenneth Felix Nobrega, said, " Brazil and India have adopted a new technological approach in the energy sector and are moving together towards transition goals in electrical energy and ethanol.”

The Ambassador further mentioned that Brazil has already implemented several policies to transition towards a more sustainable and low-carbon energy system with a welcome move to the Indian industry.

HE Mr Hiroshi Suzuki, the Japanese Ambassador congratulated India for the resounding success of the G20 Presidency and launch of the Delhi Declaration.

He mentioned a special partnership that Prime Minister Narendra Modi shares with his Japanese counterpart, with an ambitious vision for building a strong economic foundation in both trading countries. Since 2019, India has attracted USD 33 billion investment from Japan. He increased interest amongst business leaders especially start-up CEOs and CXOs. “If you can succeed in India, you can succeed in the world," he added.

Dr Samir Saran, President, Observer Research Foundation said that India’s growth story has provided a new texture of dynamism. India has created a robust start-up ecosystem and offered a diverse market to international players. He highlighted the need for creating an ecosystem for competitive federalism, over the last 10 years where businesses are being celebrated by State and Central governments. This has reinvigorated the sector, and provided newer ambitions to old managed businesses. Integrating a creative community has further expanded the ambit of diplomacy.

He focused on investing in 21st century institutions, building state-of-the-art facilities and developing partnerships with African nations. This will continue the momentum of India’s moment to make it “India’s time”.

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