Modi UK visit: David Cameron signs £9bn trade deals with Indian Prime Minister

David Cameron has announced £9bn-worth of trade deals between the UK and India, during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the UK. In an effort to seek emerging markets as trading partners, Britain's prime minister announced a list of 20 different agreements on 13 November.

After signing £30bn-worth of deals with China, the UK is now looking into India's market. With a steady GDP growth and an emerging digital market, India is an appealing option for the UK.

Modi meanwhile, is keen on getting India's voice heard in the international community. He announced at a joint press conference that his country has signed a civil nuclear deal with the UK.

Cameron said during the press conference: "We want to become your number one partner for supporting the finance needed for this ambitious plan, making London the world's centre for offshore rupee trading."

The deals include a £1.3bn bond purchase by Vodafone. The company has around 180 million customers in India, making it the second biggest phone provider.

Modi's visit to the UK has been overshadowed by protests from Indian Brits, who hold the Indian Prime minister responsible for the Gujarat riots in 2002, which saw 1,000 mostly Indian Muslims killed.

Different markets

Arguing that India is the UK's third biggest job creator and one of the biggest investors in the country, David Cameron set out his extensive plan of entering the market in India.

Because of the ongoing negotiations between the UK and the EU, many are seeing the pattern of Cameron looking for other economies to trade with. Xi Jinping's visit to number 10 resulted in a huge deal for both the UK and China.

"As the largest G20 investor in India, British businesses already support nearly 700,000 jobs in India and India invests more in the UK than in the rest of the EU combined creating almost 8,000 new jobs here last year," Cameron said.

The trade deal includes creative, retail, logistics, finance and professional services, energy, IT and cyber, healthcare and education sectors.

Modi is holding a rally in front of 60,000 Indian and British ticket holders in Wembley stadium on Friday (13 November). He is also meeting the Queen.