Kochi, March 14 (ANI): The British Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai, Bharat Joshi, said on Friday that the Great British Festival, which began in Kochi, will foster United Kingdom’s goal of doubling the trade relations between the two countries. Great British festival in Kerala is organized to boost business relations between the region and UK and for encouraging innovative entrepreneurs. Joshi was speaking following the inauguration of the UK visa application centre in the city. According to the British envoy, exports from UK to India have gone up by 14 per cent and India’s export to UK has increased by two per cent. However, he pointed out that student visas in UK have declined due to the stringent visa rules in UK. To preclude visa abuse, the British government enforced stringent visa rules which resulted in a substantial decline in the number of students to UK. Inviting companies to invest in UK, Joshi added that UK is confident of starting building new partnerships between the two countries.
