Image: Mayor Oliver Coppard, Mayor Tracy Brabin and Mayor David Skaith during the White Rose trade mission to India.
York and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith, West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin and South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard led a delegation of businesses, universities and cultural organisations to Hyderabad and Mumbai – selling Yorkshire to India as one team. They met investors, business leaders and cultural partners, including Indian firms already creating jobs in Yorkshire.
A focal point for the mission was a meeting of the White Rose Mayors with the Chief Minister of Hyderabad, to discuss proposals for closer cooperation on jobs, trade and investment.
David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, said:
“It doesn’t matter whether you sit down to enjoy a cup of Yorkshire Tea or chai, our connection with India runs deep.
“This historic trade mission takes our shared history and transforms it into fresh opportunities for both Yorkshire and India.
“Working together as one team across Yorkshire allows us to unlock new trade, create high-quality career pathways back home and deliver on devolution.”
The mission took place three months after the UK-India free trade deal came into force. The UK Government expects the deal to boost the economy of Yorkshire and the Humber by £170 million a year. Exports from West, South and York and North Yorkshire to India more than doubled between 2021 and 2023, to around £770 million a year.
Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said:
“This trade mission will unlock new opportunities for Yorkshire businesses, driving investment, supporting skilled jobs and boosting growth across the region.
“Our trade deal with India is already expected to deliver a £170m annual boost to the Yorkshire and Humber economy and this mission will help firms reach new markets in priority sectors identified in our modern Industrial Strategy from advanced manufacturing to life sciences.”
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said:
“Yorkshire and India are old friends. You see it at Headingley, where a 19-year-old Sachin Tendulkar became our first overseas player. You see it in the mills where families who came from India kept our textile industry going; in the Indian restaurants on our high streets; in the Diwali celebrations in our towns and cities; and in the thousands of Indian students who choose our universities every year.
“More than 80,000 people of Indian heritage call Yorkshire home. They are part of the fabric of our great county. I want them – and every Indian business, student and visitor thinking of coming here – to know they are valued, welcome, and safe in Yorkshire.
“This trade mission is about turning that old friendship into new economic opportunity. With the free trade deal now in force, and with Indian businesses creating hundreds of good jobs here in West Yorkshire, now is the time to build on that momentum, back our importing and exporting businesses, and ensure the benefits of good growth are felt in every postcode.”
South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said:
“The strongest partnerships are built between people and places who share ambition. South Yorkshire and Telangana are both looking ahead with confidence, backing innovation, investing in people and building economies fit for the future.
“South Yorkshire has so much to offer. We're home to world-leading advanced manufacturing, pioneering research and some of the brightest talent anywhere in the country. The skills, expertise and innovation we have here are helping solve global challenges and creating opportunities for future generations.
“By strengthening the ties between our regions, we can share ideas, build new opportunities for trade and investment, and create the conditions for even more good jobs and growth in the years ahead.”
Yorkshire’s universities were also at the heart of the mission. Institutions from Leeds, Sheffield, York and Huddersfield were part of the delegation, and thousands of Indian students choose to study in the county every year.
Last month, the University of York Mumbai opened its doors to its first cohort of students, offering undergraduate and postgraduate studies in the Creative Industries, Business, and Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security.
On a visit to the campus, Mayor David Skaith launched the Mayor’s Gateway Scholarship. Funded by the University of York Mumbai, it will initially support two students from Mumbai with the opportunity to study in York. Additional work experience opportunities will be available as part of the scholarship, giving students direct insight into York and North Yorkshire’s business and industry.
A new research and policy institute, the Institute for Good Society, was also launched following the opening of the university, with a focus on major global challenges including artificial intelligence, urbanisation and climate change. The campus will also target research on global issues such as food security and future technologies.
Professor Lindsay Oades, Provost of the University of York Mumbai, said:
“We aim to provide our students with the skills, knowledge and confidence to study and work anywhere in the world, and so scholarships like this are significant in giving students international experience.
“We are proud to introduce Mayor David Skaith to our University community and we look forward to collaborating with York and the North Yorkshire region on many more education and research opportunities.”
The University of Leeds is also deepening its links with India to speed up the development of groundbreaking technologies, building on a new research partnership with IIT Kharagpur signed earlier in the year. And last week, The University of Huddersfield signed an agreement with the Indian Technical Textile Association, which will bring West Yorkshire’s centuries-old textile expertise together with India’s fast-growing technical textiles industry, opening up new opportunities for research, innovation, investment and manufacturing.
The Mayors will now work with partners across Yorkshire to turn the connections made in India into new investment and jobs back home.