- Delegation led by Mayor of Greater Manchester to visit New Delhi under The Great North banner before engagements in Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata
- Trade mission comes after the signing of the UK-India Free Trade Agreement last year and recent major investments in Greater Manchester from Keva and RPSG Group
- Exports to India worth £500 million to Greater Manchester companies
A senior Greater Manchester delegation will travel to India in October to strengthen ties on trade, investment, innovation and culture.
The mission will take place from 12 to 16 October, led by Mayor of Greater Manchester Bev Craig and bringing together a range of businesses, universities, cultural organisations and sporting institutions from across the city region.
The trade mission will begin in New Delhi with a programme of activity under The Great North banner, the UK’s first joint mayoral-led mission to India, delivered in partnership with Northern Mayors and regions, the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
Greater Manchester’s own programme then covers Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata, with a range of investor meetings, roundtable discussions, university engagement and cultural activity in each city, supported by Invest Manchester and Marketing Manchester.
India is home to world’s largest population and one of the world’s fastest growing major economies, with the signing of the historic UK-India Free Trade Agreement last year set to unlock further opportunities and increase annual bilateral trade by £25.5 billion by 2040.
It’s also one of Greater Manchester’s most important trade and investment partners. Last year fragrance and flavour manufacturer Keva committed an £8 million investment to establish a new Global Creative Development Centre in Manchester, creating 30 new jobs.
And last month Lancashire Cricket and RPSG Group – co-owner of the Manchester Super Giants, who won the men’s Hundred this summer – announced plans to build a state-of-the-art, high-performance cricket centre next to Old Trafford Cricket Ground.
Over the last five years, investment from India has created more than 500 new jobs in Greater Manchester. Today more than 6,700 people across the wider North West are employed by Indian businesses, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
India is also one of our biggest export markets, with Greater Manchester companies exporting more than £500 million of products and services there each year.
Our relationship has been built over the past decade through the Manchester India Partnership, established to forge closer ties between businesses, universities and the public sector across both regions, and deepened further with the opening of the Consulate General of India in Manchester in March 2025.
Bev Craig, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said:
“India is one of Greater Manchester’s most important international partners, and our trade mission promises to strengthen that relationship even further. It offers a unique chance to bring in more jobs and investment and create new opportunities for our businesses.
“There has been major progress since our last visit in 2019, including the signing of the UK-India Free Trade Agreement and the opening of the Consulate General of India in Manchester.
“This mission is about making sure our city region is the first place Indian businesses think of when they look at the UK and Europe. We will be joined by our universities, our businesses and our cultural and sporting institutions, underlining the strength of our partnerships and the interest in forging closer ties with India.
“We’re also proud to be going out as part of The Great North, alongside other Northern Mayors and regions. Greater Manchester’s relationships in India create opportunities for the whole of the North, and this mission is a chance to extend them further.”
Greater Manchester’s 60-strong delegation will be made up of senior leaders from businesses, universities, sports clubs and cultural institutions – including Lancashire Cricket Club, Manchester Airport Group, Manchester Museum, The University of Manchester, University of Salford, Manchester Metropolitan University, Health Innovation Manchester, Factory International, and GC Angels.
They will be joined by representatives from the Manchester India Partnership, Invest Manchester, Marketing Manchester and the Business Growth Hub.
The programme is focused on developing closer ties in focus sectors for both India and Greater Manchester – including health innovation and life sciences, creative industries, digital, advanced manufacturing and low carbon, and financial and professional services.
India is also an important visitor market for the UK, with more than 600,000 visits made each year. Visitor numbers are expected to reach 1 million by 2030, with visitor spend reaching £1 billion.
As part of the mission, the delegation will work alongside VisitBritain and 8 other UK Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) to promote Greater Manchester as a place to visit, meet and study. Events in Delhi and Mumbai will engage travel trade and media, promoting Greater Manchester’s visitor economy offer and key partners to attract new visitors.
Over the last five years, 11 Indian businesses have created more than 500 jobs across Greater Manchester and contributed over £34.5 million in GVA to the local economy, according to analysis by Invest Manchester.
Today more than 30 Indian businesses operate in Greater Manchester across a range of sectors, including Tech Mahindra, HeroCycle and Keva.
India accounts for 5% of all foreign direct investment (FDI) projects into Greater Manchester and has frequently ranked in the top ten countries for job creation, with the UK as a whole being the third largest destination for Indian FDI.
The mission builds on the inaugural India North England Opportunity Summit in Manchester in March 2026, which drew more than 300 delegates, and comes as the Free Trade Agreement is projected to add £25.5 billion to annual bilateral trade and £4.8 billion to the UK economy.
Consul General of India in Manchester, Mrs Vishakha Yaduvanshi, said:
“We are delighted to welcome the Great North Mayoral Delegation to India this October. The visit reflects the growing interest on both sides in building a stronger relationship between India and the North of England.
“The opening of the Consulate General of India in Manchester was itself a clear indication of India’s commitment to engaging more closely with the city and the wider region. Manchester has had strong historical ties with India which are growing with the presence of the Consulate in the city and with the emergence of new potential areas of cooperation. We are delighted that Manchester is part of this combined delegation and is growing to play a crucial role in further strengthening commercial and economic ties with India, through this visit.
“The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement now gives this engagement a fresh momentum. There is considerable scope for collaboration with Indian states and cities in areas such as advanced manufacturing, technology, textiles, education, clean energy, sport and culture.
“We hope the delegation’s visit will help turn this potential into concrete projects, investment and long-term institutional links. The Consulate General of India in Manchester will extend its full support to the delegation and will continue to work closely with partners.”
Jo Ahmed MBE, Co-Chair of the Manchester India Partnership, said:
“Greater Manchester’s relationship with India has flourished over many years, through our economy, our universities, our culture and sport, and above all through the people who connect our two regions.
“This mission is about taking that further, in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata, and building on the work the Consulate General of India has done since opening in Manchester.
“We believe in collaboration for the long term, not the short term. The Manchester India Partnership exists to bring together business, academia, government and the diaspora, and with the Free Trade Agreement now in force, this mission is the next chapter of that work, one we hope will bring shared prosperity and economic benefit to both our places.”
Joe Manning, Managing Director of Invest Manchester, said:
“India is one of our most important international markets and the relationships behind this mission have been built over several years, through the Manchester India Partnership and through our own work with Indian businesses and institutions.
“The Free Trade Agreement changes the terms for Indian companies looking at this country. Greater Manchester has the research base, the supply chain and the talent to be a leading option in Europe for businesses wanting to land and grow at scale, and our programme across the five cities is built around specific conversations with companies across a number of our key sectors including life sciences and technology.”
Victoria Braddock, Managing Director of Marketing Manchester, said:
“India is a key market for Greater Manchester’s visitor economy, welcoming 21,000 visitors and generating £8.7m a year, and this mission is a fantastic opportunity to build on that, with direct conversations with travel trade to promote the city region as a place to visit, meet and study.
“Greater Manchester’s position as a Global Gateway to the North of England means visitors get access to multiple destinations from one city region, and that offer keeps growing. The mission is an important part of the strong and longstanding relationship between Greater Manchester and India, and we look forward to offering more visitors from India a warm welcome.”
