After five years as Co-Chairman of the India-UK Round Table consisting of eminent persons and mandated to promote bilateral ties, NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul on Sunday announced his decision to step down from the post, noting that bilateral ties are poised for further consolidation.
"Eight meetings are a lot for a Co-Chairman; it is time for me to move on," Lord Paul said in his opening remarks at the eighth meeting of the Round Table at Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire.
Adding that he would relinquish the co-chairmanship after submitting the conclusions of the current meeting to the Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, Lord Paul said India-UK bilateral relations are poised for further consolidation and the two-way trade is expected to grow substantially.
"The bilateral relations are poised for further consolidation and the changing relationship opens up opportunities for further improvement and ideas."
The two-day meeting assumes significance as it will be the first meeting of the Round Table since the Manmohan Singh-led Government came to power in Delhi.
The Round Table was established in 2000 by the then External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and his British counterpart Robin Cook at a time when bilateral relations had reached a low following New Delhi's decision to go in for nuclear tests in 1998.
{{/usCountry}}The Round Table was established in 2000 by the then External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and his British counterpart Robin Cook at a time when bilateral relations had reached a low following New Delhi's decision to go in for nuclear tests in 1998.
{{/usCountry}}The meeting of the Round Table will basically focus on further stepping up bilateral trade and investment and greater cooperation in the fields of education and culture.