Mission Updates
West Midlands Mayoral Mission to India

The official West Midlands Mayoral Mission to India landed on Sunday 22nd February, and will tour across Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and Bengaluru for a week.

Here you can get updates as the delegation strengthen economic ties across the Indian subregions, meeting with delegates and government officials to build on last year’s UK–India Free Trade Agreement.

Today’s high-level engagement between The Mayor of the West Midlands, Richard Parker, Rt. Hon. Greg Clark, and K. N. Radhakrishnan, Director & CEO of TVS Motor Company reaffirmed a shared ambition – to scale that partnership further through the region’s world-class R&D ecosystem.

As part of the West Midlands India Mission, the delegation toured TVS Motor Company’s flagship production facility in Tamil Nadu, a showcase of the scale and operational depth underpinning sustained bilateral growth.

From Bangalore to the West Midlands, our strategic partnership with TVS is powering high-impact growth across future mobility and global automotive supply chains.

The delegation led a high-level luxury roundtable with senior stakeholders to shape the West Midlands’ premium offer to Indian HNW audiences. The session focused on building long-term commercial partnerships and developing experience-led luxury packages, aligned to capitalise on major regional moments in 2026 and beyond.

Focusing on future mobility, advanced manufacturing and creative digital technology, CII hosted an interactive session with West Midlands Growth Company, delegates of the trade mission and key stakeholders from the Indian market.

The West Midlands and Bangalore have a strong sector alignment, and the session enabled the opportunity to unlock business partnerships, research collaborations and market access programs.

A focused visit to the Infosys Bangalore campus allowed the delegation to curate strategic 1:1 engagement with executive leadership and innovation teams, exploring high-value partnership opportunities and gaining insight into Infosys’ AI research and innovation strategy.

As a strategic partner with an established presence in the West Midlands, Infosys plays a key role in strengthening long-term innovation and commercial ties between the West Midlands and India.

A curated visit to IIMB explored its approach to business education and incubation ecosystems, offering insight into how academic institutions are supporting innovation-led growth in India.

As one of India’s leading business schools and a member of the prestigious IIM network, the visit will connect the academic leaders and delegation members to explore long-term innovative academic partnerships in a strategic move to prepare the region’s upcoming generation of STEM talent for an AI-enabled economy

The delegation visited one of India’s most influential and internationally recognised film studios to strengthen UK–India cultural and creative sector partnerships. It was an opportunity to showcase the West Midlands’ rapidly growing screen sector, distinctive filming locations, and production capabilities, while exploring opportunities for collaboration across film, tourism, and talent development.

The visit supported the region’s ambition to attract international productions, accelerate creative industry growth, and raise global visibility through screen.

During this roundtable, the delegation explored Mumbai’s evolution as a global city and opportunities for UK–India collaboration in infrastructure, urban resilience, and people-centred design.

The discussions highlighted potential international partnerships in sustainable mobility, mixed-use city development, and innovative approaches to urban growth.

The West Midlands delegation attended an exclusive business networking event where Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, and Harjinder Kang, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for South Asia, delivered speeches before connecting with business leaders, policymakers and innovators from both regions.

It was a unique opportunity for UK and Indian leaders to engage and create foundational partnerships on which to build the next chapter of UK-India cooperation.

The delegation met with India’s leading investors and financial institutions to explore emerging opportunities across the West Midlands with a view to deepen financial and market links.

As the mission moved to Mumbai, the delegation convened a visitor economy roundtable with travel trade partners and tour operators.

Discussions focused on strengthening inbound visitor flows from India to the West Midlands and developing long-term partnerships ahead of major regional events.

At the NASSCOM Technology & Leadership Forum, the delegation engaged with Indian technology leaders to explore collaboration across digital innovation, AI and scale-up ecosystems.

The discussion considered opportunities for joint ventures, knowledge exchange and market entry support between Indian tech firms and the West Midlands.

NASSCOM represents thousands of Indian and multinational tech companies, working to advance industry growth, collaboration, policy and innovation, both domestically and internationally.

The delegation attended an evening hosted by Arvind Group, a diversified Indian manufacturer spanning textiles, advanced materials and industrial innovation.

Engagement focused on industrial transformation, global supply chains and potential collaboration across advanced manufacturing and design-led production.

Co-hosted with Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, the Commonwealth Connect Forum brought together government and industry leaders to discuss major event delivery, infrastructure and economic legacy.

The West Midlands shared experience from Birmingham 2022, exploring knowledge exchange and partnership opportunities as Ahmedabad advances its global sporting ambitions.

The delegation visited Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), India’s International Financial Services Centre.

Meetings covered the IFSC regulatory framework, financial services ecosystem and live developments within the district.

Discussions explored potential collaboration between GIFT City and the West Midlands’ financial and professional services cluster, including FinTech and regulatory innovation.

Hosted by the Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner, the delegation attended a riverfront reception bringing together civic leaders and business representatives.

The event provided informal engagement opportunities ahead of the week’s formal sector discussions.

The delegation visited Akshardham to gain insight into Gujarat’s cultural and civic landscape.

Cultural understanding forms part of long-term international partnership building, underpinning trust and institutional relationships that support trade and investment collaboration.

The delegation opened with a contextual briefing on India’s innovation economy and Gujarat’s sector strengths.

Discussions focused on sector alignment, investment priorities and areas where West Midlands capability – particularly in manufacturing, sustainability, technology and infrastructure – can complement Indian growth ambitions.

A working lunch enabled early engagement between delegation members and local stakeholders ahead of formal meetings across the week.

The West Midlands Mayoral Mission to India commenced in Ahmedabad, building on the UK–India Free Trade Agreement and the region’s long-standing economic ties with India.

Led by Mayor Richard Parker, the delegation is engaging with state and national stakeholders across Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Bengaluru to advance collaboration in advanced manufacturing, renewables, financial services, technology and the visitor economy.

The mission is supported by Aston University, Birmingham City University, E.ON, GEDU Global Education, the University of Birmingham and the University of Warwick.