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Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London officially announced the opening of ‘The London India Office’ in Delhi to promote business, culture and tourism between the two cities. He also announced the appointment of Divya Dwivedi, who will be the Mayor’s representative in Delhi. The office will promote London as a place to visit, study and invest and provide Indians with the opportunity to experience what London has to offer.
The Mayor Ken Livingstone said: “India is an economic superpower, with a growth rate of over nine per cent a year. Its tourism industry is also growing rapidly – in 2006, 230,000 Indians came to London, spending £152million overtaking Japan and making them the biggest spenders from the Asian market. Indian students are also flocking to London to study, with numbers doubling from 2,190 in 2001 to 4,320 in 2005. London’s largest minority ethnic community is Indians and 10,000 Indian-owned businesses have based themselves in the UK capital.”
“We want more people from India to make London their first choice for visiting, studying or locating a business. This new office in Delhi will show Indians what London has to offer and will provide practical resources to help encourage greater economic and cultural activity.”
The Delhi office will act as a first point of contact with London, providing information and intelligence on what London has to offer to a wide range of existing and potential customers including businesses, consumers, governments and economic development partners.
Divya Dwivedi said: “This is an exciting new challenge for me and I keenly look forward to representing the Mayor of London’s Office in India. I am firmly convinced about the opportunity that lies ahead of me to function as a keystone in bridging opportunities between London and India. In this position, I hope to successfully promote brand London and develop a mutually beneficial relationship between India and London.”
The office has been planned and created in partnership with the London Development Agency, which promotes business in London for the Mayor, Think London, which promotes foreign direct investment into London, and Visit London, which promotes tourism in the UK capital city. All partners will work together to provide a coordinated service from the office in order to deliver clear and shared messages on London.
The Mayor opened the new office as part of his official week-long visit to India entitled “London-India: Partners in Globalisation”, to promote London as a destination for business, tourism, studying and creative industries and to strengthen relationships between London and India.
