In the 60 years of independence from colonial rule, India has a High Commissioner from the UK who is the first to have been born after 1947. And he is the youngest ever, too. Sir Michael Arthur joined the British Foreign Service in 1972 with a stint at the UN. Apart from being a marathon runner and a pianist, he is an expert on economic issues and has fought for Britain and the EU at the World Trade Organisation. Sir Michael joined The Indian Express team over lunch on Friday and talked of the relations between the former colony and a “fast-changing” Britain, which is at a new level of mutual benefit. India is now the second biggest investor in Britain after the US and there is growing interest among big Indian business in British companies and vice-versa — like Tata and Corus or Vodafone and Hutch. He also thinks the British people of Indian origin, who make 2 per cent of the population but contribute 5 per cent of the economy, are playing a great role in the modernisation of the country and helping the UK come closer to India. Excerpts from the Express interaction: MICHAEL ARTHUR: I have been in India for over three years and I must say it has been fantastically exciting. During my tenure, I have tried to establish a sort of 21st Century modern relationship between India and the UK. Both the countries are changing fast and moving to a new level of development. India and the UK have come closer and this is borne out by the fact that four British ministers — three of them of Cabinet rank — are coming to India next week. One of them is Gordon Brown, who is likely to succeed Prime Minister Tony Blair next year. For that, the agenda is ready — one of the issues is government-to-government link. The ministers will talk on a host of issues including energy, environment, trade, development and climate change. Both the countries have gone much beyond geo-political issues. But the issues have become global because India and the UK have become strategic partners. The global issues are migration, environment, terrorism, and international architecture of trade. India is also fast emerging as a global player. The trade between the two countries is also roaring. India brought the second biggest FDI to the UK, after the US. Besides, unprecedented number of UK visas were given to Indians and a record number of Indians visit the UK and the British, India. Apart from that, British people of Indian origin are the strongest among the minority communities in the UK, accounting for 2 per cent of the population and 5 per cent of the economy. As for education, we are also trying to encourage more number of students going to the UK. The most important question, however, is why this is happening. It is because of the comfort factor between the peoples of the two countries. For instance, the youth in the UK like to do half of the thing as young Indians — going to the movies and eating out. SAUBHIK CHAKRABARTI: Is there any concern on your part that the kind of equal treatment India business gets in the UK, the British companies may not get here? Tata Steel did not face much problem while bidding for Corus, there were not many regulatory hassles. If the situation is reversed, do you anticipate the same treatment from the Indian establishment if a British company wanted to take over Tata Steel? I talked to people here about a range of issues. There is a rule of law and it is clear about many things and we respect it. There are also limits of bilateral trade. There are FDI cap in insurance and banking sector in India and we would like to see them raised. We will be delighted if your government and Parliament raised it. But this does not mean that we are not doing good business. There is a level playing field where investment is permitted. In many places, the market has a greater role to play than the government. PRANAB DHAL SAMANTA: The British Army is leading the fight in Afghanistan but the situation there is deteriorating. As a diplomat, how do you see the situation evolving there? We are in lead. The UK is one of the 37 countries that have sent their forces to Afghanistan under the UN resolution on the invitation of the Afghanistan government. However, our commitment is bigger with around 6,000 British troops deployed there. One of the most remarkable things happening in Afghanistan is that it is re-establishing democracy and there is no doubt that the country has become much more stable and peaceful. Now children are going to school and women are liberated. Yes, you are right there is a threat from insurgents and the Taliban and we are finding our task much tougher than we expected. That is why there is more commitment needed. PRANAB DHAL SAMANTA: As the British High Commissioner, what kind of feedback do you get about Pakistan? Don’t you think Pakistan has been a problem as for as cooperation in Afghanistan is concerned? The role of Pakistan is very crucial as it shares a long and vulnerable boundaries with Afghanistan. And Pakistan can play a lot bigger role. So we are closely working with Islamabad. PRANAB DHAL SAMANTA: but Pakistan is considering fencing and mining the Durand Line? We want curtailment of penetration from the Taliban border areas. We want their flow diminished. The decision to fence and mine was taken by Pakistan. SHEKHAR GUPTA: To what extent has Saddam Hussein’s hanging complicated the life of policy-makers in your country and in your alliance? Our position is well documented. Our government and society do not approve of death penalty. We also ask other countries not to give death penalty to anyone. But the law in Iraq sentenced Saddam to death. Prime Minister Tony Blair has already said that the way Saddam was executed does not excuse the crimes he committed and the crimes he committed do not excuse the death penalty. However, the complicating factor is the way the judgment was carried out. It has undoubtedly stimulated strong emotion not only in Iraq but also across the world. Our effort is to normalise the situation in the country and hand it over to the Iraqi people as early as possible. The British forces have already transferred the control of a couple of provinces in Iraq. We hope that one province under us will also be handed over soon. We don’t want to stay any longer than is required but it does not mean we are pulling out of Iraq tomorrow. SHEKHAR GUPTA: But President George W Bush has talked about increasing the strength of troops in Iraq. We will not do that. SHEKHAR GUPTA: But do you think increasing the number of US troops will improve the situation in Iraq? The situation in Iraq varies from region to region and there cannot be the same strategy for all. For instance, we face strong resistance from Sunni-dominated Baghdad areas while other parts may not have the same degree of resistance. We will not increase the number of our troops. SEEMA CHISHTI: How much has Iraq to do with the fact that we are talking about Gordon Brown as the prime minister-in-waiting? These are independent factors. In the prime ministership of Tony Blair, One of the major issues has been the issue of Iraq, and we need more distance in history to judge his role. However, I hope we will not distort our view on what Tony Blair has done. He has turned around the British society. Under his premiership, a lot of work was been done on health and education sectors. He is also deeply committed to Africa’s development. He has also pursued the climate agenda. There has been transformation in the UK. It has become much more modern. SEEMA CHISHTI: Do you support American air strike on Somalia ? Like India, we believe in international rule of law and justice. However, we should not forget that 21st Century is different from the 19th. There is a need for UN and international cooperation where there is crisis. VIRENDRA KUMAR: You talked about how well the Indians have done in Britain and how there is a certain level of comfort between the two counties. Why then bring in a new ‘high-skilled migrant programme’? There is a certain degree of concern and we are very much sympathetic to that. The benefit of new policy would be a huge help for applicants. GAUTAM CHIKERMANE: Do you think 2007 will be a make-or-break year for the WTO, with the US and EU on one side and the developing countries on the other? Yes, you are right. This is a very important year for the WTO. We are strong advocates of solution of all problems at the WTO. We benefited a lot from our open economy and we want the world economies to be more liberal and open. Prime Minister Tony Blair is very active on that. We have been in touch with India that is leading G-20. India and the UK want more agriculture sector reforms. We have also reformed our agriculture though that harms our trade. We join with India in urging America to bring in reforms in its farm sector. GAUTAM CHIKERMANE: To rephr-ase my question, what do you speculate as a diplomat about the outcome of the WTO negotiations? I am not one who can speculate or gamble. I am a poorly paid diplomat. ABHAY MISHRA: Are you concerned about the rise of Muslim fundamentalism in Britain? I have already said British society has changed a lot in the last 25 years. It is much more different from when I was a child. We are also being criticised for being too open and too liberal. Our society is plural now. We have also enacted some laws to prevent incitement by radical elements or clerics. We are surprised to find out that our society is also breeding a section of radicals. However, we are trying our best to make it a terrorist versus the civilised fight, rather than an Islamic versus non-Islamic one. ABHAY MISHRA: Do you think your government is addressing the problem correctly, given the controversy over veils and British universities to be brought under surveillance? The veil issue sparked off a huge protest but all of it was needless. Jack Straw has said that communication is fostered in a better way if a woman is not in a veil. This is a social issue and the government is not playing any role in it. MANINI CHATTERJEE: India will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the 1857 uprising against the British rule. How significant is this occasion to the UK? This issue is not something to be debated in the UK. Different people thre have different take on that.
