Minister of State for Work and Pensions, Priti Patel, today opened a new British Deputy High Commission in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
“This mission is the one that everyone has been waiting for and, importantly, I think it brings closer that Gujarati link and relationship back to the UK,” said Patel before she left the UK..
“I recall from my own travels to Gujarat as a child when there was no mission there despite such a huge Gujarati community here in the UK. Now with the new direct flight connecting the UK and the state, this marks a new landmark for Gujaratis in the UK,” she said.
Mrs Patel is currently on a three day visit to India that will take her from Ahmedabad to Kolkata and finally to New Dehli. In Kolkata, Mrs Patel will meet the Chief Minister of West Bengal, and in New Delhi she will attend a variety of meetings, including one with Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj.
According to an official statement, Patel’s “visit aims to build on the momentum created by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UK in November 2015. The minister will focus on strengthening people-to-people and cultural ties, and on expanding business links between the UK and India. She will also extend the UK’s commitment to support Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Skills India’ project[.]”