Growing the economy is at the heart of the UK government’s policies, and also motivated the opening this month of a new Indian consulate in Belfast.
The diplomatic outpost in NI has opened alongside one in Manchester, as the UK seeks to grow ties between the nations and regions and the world’s most populous country.
Northern Ireland currently forms a relatively small part of the UK’s lucrative goods trade with India.
In the 12 months ending in September 2024, NI exported £55m of goods to India, as against £203m worth of exports from Wales, £576m from Scotland and £4.9bn from England.
Nonetheless, there is a growing number of firms here that trade with India, with 146 businesses exporting there.
The most common product NI sells into the Indian market is beverages, of which £7.4m were sold, followed in popularity by chemical materials, which accounted for £5.9m of exports and then specialised machinery, which sold £3.6m.
The UK Government is seeking to increase trade for all the nations and regions of the UK in recognition of India’s growing economic power and size.
It is the world’s fourth-largest importer, and by 2035 India’s demand for imports is projected to hit £1.4 trillion.
Moreover, the Indian economy is forecast to remain the fastest-growing one in the G20 for the next five years, and is on track to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2028.
The UK Government expect there to be a 95 million-strong Indian middle class in a decade’s time.
India is already an important part of many worldwide industries, perhaps most notably in technology and IT services.
One recent deal between NI and India tech firms was the new partnership launched between Belfast-headquartered tech security firm Angoka and Bangalore-based encryption business Pantherun.
Pantherun CEO Srinivas Shekar and ANGOKA Chairman Steve Berry sign collaboration agreement
Announcing the deal at the Embedded World conference in Nuremberg, Srinivas Shekar, CEO and co-founder of Pantherun Technologies, said: “We are excited to partner with Angoka to bring augmented solutions to our customers.
“This partnership enables us to better tailor our service offerings and reach new markets, further consolidating our capabilities in cybersecurity.”
Angoka specialises in authentication, and chairman of the firm Steve Berry says there is a natural synergy between that and Pantherun’s focus on encryption.
He explained that for many IT activities, such as mobile banking, both encryption and authentication “need to occur and we do that.
“Both companies, Pantherrun and Angoka do that, not for consumers, but for machines. We do machine-to-machine communication, which is a big area.
“Machines are being automated, they’re talking to each other. It’s pretty fancy technology, frankly, and growing in importance.”
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Discussions on the partnership between the two firms began in recent months, and Mr Berry said they moved quickly once the potential of the deal became clear.
He describes the partnership as “quite comprehensive. They will be using our technology in a software stack embedded onto their hardware, and we will be using their technology on our software stack embedded in our hardware.
“We’re looking at possible joint ventures between the two companies in terms of specific verticals, such as, say, railways, where both of us have some clients.”
Mr Berry has worked around the world before setting up Angoka in Belfast in 2019, and sees a great deal of potential in India’s economy.
“Some of the world’s biggest IT services companies are Indian, probably at least five that are worth $1bn-plus, and a place like Bangalore is world famous, and almost every major tech company in the world has offices there.
“We should recognize that good technology can come from anywhere.
“There are certain advantages, of course. Educated Indians speak very good English and that business is quite easy to do from that perspective.
“The big Indian IT outsourcing companies are already huge in Europe. You’re talking about very big contracts. This has been going on for decades.”
India’s foreign minister Dr S. Jaishankar addresses the opening of the new Indian consulate in Belfast.
India’s foreign minister Dr S Jaishankar, spoke at the opening of the consulate in Belfast earlier this month. It is located in Clarence House on May Street after agreeing a temporary lease with the owners, Andras House.
He said: “When I reflect on the potential of this consulate and what it can do, we can see in Belfast and this region has a great economic history, I think most of all it is known for its shipbuilding capabilities.
“But not just for that. A lot of our IT businesses have been present here and some other businesses have come here more recently. And we do see the economic potential.”
Lindy Cameron, British High Commissioner to India, is from Northern Ireland, and also spoke at the opening.
“It’s particularly special as a Northern Irishwoman for me to be in Belfast for the opening of India’s new consulate. India’s new diplomatic mission here underlines how our international relationships are driving growth to all parts of the UK.
“We share a modern partnership between the UK and India — one which enhances the already deep connections between our people.
“India’s commitment to Belfast is an exciting boost to businesses across Northern Ireland looking to benefit from the UK’s £41bn trading relationship with India.”
The UK Government says that improving UK-India relations is a “key part of the government’s plan for change to drive growth across the whole of the UK.
The Indian foreign minister met political and business figures during his trip to Belfast.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “One of my first visits as Foreign Secretary was to India because deepening our partnership for our shared growth and security is a key part of this government’s Plan for Change.
“Dr Jaishankar and I are supercharging our £41bn trading relationship with India, after trade talks were relaunched in Delhi. It is the floor, not the ceiling of our ambitions that will benefit both our economies.
“The opening of new Indian consulates in Belfast and Manchester demonstrate the growing links between our peoples and how we are working together to deliver growth not only in London, but right across the UK.
“This expansion of India’s diplomatic presence will further boost our trading relationship and support the valued Indian community in the UK.”