West Midlands UK Delegation Pays Courtesy Visit to CM Bhupendra Patel

Gandhinagar, February 2026: A high-level delegation from the West Midlands Combined Authority of England, led by the Mayor of the West Midlands, Mr. Richard Parker, paid a courtesy visit to Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel in Gandhinagar. This delegation is visiting Gujarat for the first time following the UK–India trade deal signed under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
 
During the meeting with Chief Minister, members of the delegation expressed particular interest in collaboration across various sectors including higher education, green economy and EV, skill development, AI, and advanced manufacturing. They also held fruitful discussions with the Chief Minister regarding the contribution of UK expertise in developing the sports ecosystem and sports infrastructure for the Commonwealth Games scheduled to be held in Gujarat in 2030. Furthermore, they extended an invitation to the Chief Minister and a high-level delegation from Gujarat to visit the West Midlands in connection with the organisation of these Games.

In the meeting, Chief Minister stated that under the leadership of Prime Minister, India has emerged as a trusted friend to countries around the world. Referring to the benefits Gujarat has received, he emphasised that since the Vibrant Summit of 2003, Gujarat has become a global destination for investment, and under his guidance, the state has adopted a vision of sector-specific growth through policy-driven governance and the formulation of various policies.
 
In this context, the Chief Minister said that under the Prime Minister’s vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, Gujarat is also prepared to lead in emerging sectors including green growth. He added that the Government of Gujarat is eager to extend full cooperation in all such areas of partnership in which the UK shows interest.
 
Chief Minister suggested the formation of a Joint Working Group comprising officials from the Government of Gujarat and the West Midlands to explore such sectors and accelerate possibilities of mutual development. He also proposed appointing iNDEXTb as the nodal agency for coordination.
 
The Chief Minister also invited the delegation to participate in the upcoming edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference as well as the Vibrant Summit 2027.
 
The high-level delegation included CEO of the West Midlands Growth Company Shri Neil Rami; Chief Commercial Officer of E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions Shri Vijay Tank; Mr. Greg Clark from the University of Warwick’s Innovation District; Vice Chancellor of the University of Birmingham Mr. David;  Managing Director of GEDU Mr. Kevin McCole; Chief Commercial Officer of Aston University; Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University Mark Lee; Mr. William Carne of UKIFF India Global Forum, and Shri Manoj Ladwa.
 
This meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary of the Industries Department Smt. Mamta Verma, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Shri Sanjeev Kumar, Industries Commissioner Shri P. Swaroop, Additional Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Dr. Vikrant Pandey, and Managing Director of iNDEXTb Shri Keyur Sampat.
 
 Source: Information Department, Gujarat