East Midlands MEP in India for talks

8.08.33pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 10th May 2010

Bill Newton Dunn met the Speaker of the Indian parliament's lower house (the Lok Sahba) in Delhi last week, to discuss how the EU and India can ensure their relations best help Indian and European citizens.

Bill was in India as part of a European Parliament delegation to discuss the EU-India Trade Agreement currently being negotiated. Talks with Indian politicians, business and civil society covered issues of importance to citizens in the East Midlands and India alike, such as climate change, counter-terrorism, energy, and medical and hi-tech industry. Bill noted that, "In all our discussions, the key role of India not just in its own neighbourhood but also globally, has been a recurring theme".

Bill was also delighted to meet a group of young children who, through EU funding, had been rescued from a life working in the fields and sent to school. "It is great news that EU funds are used in projects like this, which has still a further million villages to reach", he said.

Bill hopes to protect the interests of the East Midlands in his ongoing work as a member of the European Parliament's standing group for relations with India. "The next big event will be a return visit from Indian MPs to the European Parliament, later this year. I am very much looking forward to continuing discussions, in the hope of reaching agreement with our Indian counterparts on matters of concern to my East Midlands constituents"