British Deputy High Commissioner to East and Northeast India, Andrew Fleming, met with Assam Chief Secretary Ravi Kota to discuss a strategic roadmap for strengthening Assam-UK cooperation. The meeting, held in the context of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) set to come into effect in July, covered key areas such as investment promotion, export growth, technology integration, infrastructure development, and skills enhancement. Senior climate and energy adviser and sustainable mobility policy lead (India) for the UK FCDO, Haimanti Poddar, was also present at the meeting. The UK delegation presented a report on the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Need Assessment and Analysis for APDCL, which provides recommendations to strengthen grid reliability, accelerate renewable energy integration, and support Assam’s clean energy transition.
Kota noted that the meeting also explored opportunities under the proposed UK-India Sovereign AI Partnership, including trusted AI infrastructure, sovereign cloud capabilities, advanced computing, and AI governance frameworks to support Assam’s digital transformation agenda. The meeting reaffirmed the shared commitment to translating the opportunities emerging from the India-UK FTA into tangible outcomes through enhanced trade, investment, technology partnerships, and institutional cooperation, supporting Assam’s long-term growth and global competitiveness. Additionally, the proposed Assam-UK Infrastructure Roundtable in Guwahati aims to facilitate partnerships in sustainable urbanization, transport, flood resilience, climate-resilient infrastructure, and project delivery, including potential engagement with UK Export Finance (UKEF).
