Nick Low, British Deputy High Commissioner (Counsel General) Kolkata. (Twitter)
British Deputy High Commissioner on India-UK relations and other issues – II
Moa Jamir
Dimapur | November 28
The visa issue has been ‘pretty grim,’ both ways between India and the United Kingdom in recent times, but things will improve soon, Nick Low, British Deputy High Commissioner (Counsel General) Kolkata has assured.
“By the end of this calendar year or in the absolute latest by the end of January, we should have everyone within that 15-day window,” he added, in an exclusive interview with The Morung Express during his recent visit to Nagaland from November 9-11.
On being asked whether visa issues are among the "difficult stuff" in the current negotiation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries, Low said that while the UK-India Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP), is separate from the FTA, but a crucial part.
He also noted the both governments are aware of the issue and working towards a solution.
“We are now in a much better place,” he said, informing that at the beginning of the summer, the visa queue was around 68,000, but by the second week of November, it was reduced to 13,000.
To boost trade investment, we need people to be able to travel quickly and easily, underscored Low, who heads the British Deputy High Commission Kolkata, representing the UK Government in 12 States and 1 Union Territory in East India as well as Bhutan.
We are processing the visa application within our target of 15 working days – or three weeks in theory, but there are still some complex cases including establishing credentials as well as first-time travellers, he added.
However, with online options and centralisation in Delhi, visa application is made easier, he said. Applicants don't have to physically go to Delhi, they can go to the local application centre, have their documents checked and when it is ready, they go and collect their passport and visa from the local centres, he added.
India-UK relations
On bilateral trade, Low shared how the then UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on May 2021 agreed on a comprehensive strategic partnership, India’s first initiative with a European country.
The ‘2030 Roadmap’ is not the 'stuffiest of titles' but what matters is substance and it is a detailed plan to completely transform the relationship between the UK and India, he noted.
We are already in a good place and investment between our countries has increased greatly over the last few years, but we really want to “turbocharge trade and investment,” he opined. “The target is to double trade by 2030. That's why we are negotiating an FTA,” he added. While a lot of progress has been made, he noted that it is not quite there yet as “most difficult stuff gets left at the end.”
According to some reports, the trade deal is ‘expected to be closed by March 2023.’
Meanwhile, Low also termed some reactions in India to the recent appointment of Rishi Sunak as the UK’s Prime Minister as “fascinating,” juxtaposing with the lack of reaction back home.
“I thought that it was amazing and encouraging...but it was not a big deal. It really was easy. He's one of us,” he shared.
He also implied that such development points to how multicultural the UK has become in recent years, reflected in the diversity of the population as well as in the arts, sports and other spheres.
On India’s assumption of the presidency of G-20 officially from December 1, he said that both countries could work together for the benefit of the forum members as well as the wider world because its purpose is to “make the world a better place.”
We can use G20 to work more closely together bilaterally on our shared priorities, he added, further foreseeing India articulating sustainable, equitable and clean growth.
On COP27 and climate issue
Meanwhile, touching upon the recent (then ongoing) 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) at Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, Low contended that while people talk about a ‘tipping point,’ the Earth currently is in a situation “where it was very clear that the climate was changing very rapidly.”
He cited recent extreme weather patterns in Europe, Africa, the US and China as well as the devastating flood in Pakistan as signs of climate change vulnerabilities, among others.
To this end, he highlighted that the UK, which recently handed over the COP presidency to Egypt, is very much engaged with climate change and termed it an essential foreign policy priority.
Low further pointed out an “oddity” that if someone says, a temperature of 26 or 26.5 Celsius, one can't tell the difference, but the ramification of a rising global temperature from 1.5 to 1.5 degree Celsius was “very very great.”
Around 700 million global population would be exposed to extreme climate vulnerability. We lose all the coral reefs and see more violent weather events, he stated.
Low also noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin's “unlawful and brutal invasion” of Ukraine had created a huge challenge, resulting in shocking energy and food prices, among others, when the global economy was recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, climate change will “wait for no one” and it is incredibly important that “we don’t go back on those promises that were made in Paris back in 2015 and in Glasgow last year,” he asserted. “Those have absolutely got to be our baseline.”
The COP 27 adopted a historic “Loss and Damage” Fund for vulnerable countries but left out many other issues.
Low further said that climate change is a great global issue and can be linked with altering the conditions for pathogens and vectors of zoonotic diseases and the issue of biodiversity preservation is also equally crucial.
“The environment goes hand in glove with climate change,” noting the importance of the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15), scheduled next month in Canada. Likewise, as a global Community, we need to redouble our efforts to eliminate poverty, he added, elaborating on the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
He also expressed optimism about technological solutions to answering some pertinent climate change issues. To this end, Low cited some engagements with India including the International Solar Alliance initiative and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.
“We are working very closely not only with the Union Government but also state and local governments across India,” he informed. He also batted for Electric Mobility of public transport, an area where Kolkata is “blazing a trail for other citizens of India.”
It is something we wish to encourage and strongly support, he added, informing that a couple of local companies will also be signing the ZEV (Zero Emission vehicle) declaration.
This is the last of a two-part series.
