BANGALORE • Polishing his credentials on the international stage, British prime minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown kicked off a three-day visit to India yesterday taking in everything from Bangalore to Bollywood.
With only months left before he is expected to take over from Prime Minister Tony Blair, the long-serving finance minister will use the trip to press for progress on stalled world trade talks and urge Indian companies to come to Britain.
In a number of high-profile interviews this year, Brown has called for a new style of politics, a move analysts see as an attempt to distance himself from some of Blair's more unpopular policies and to gain credibility outside his economic brief.
India is significant for Brown because it is Britain's fourth-largest inward investor and he has long said Western nations must find ways to embrace the opportunities of the rising economies of China and India.
"India is becoming a great power," Brown told reporters on the plane to Bangalore. "There is a new world order."
His comments suggested a Brown government might support a bid by India to secure a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
There is a significant Indian community in Britain which makes up 2 percent of the population and is an important voting bloc in many key constituencies where the ruling Labour Party has a slim lead.
Opposition Conservative Party leader David Cameron, and Brown's likely rival at Britain's next general election expected in 2009, also visited India late last year.
LOCATION OF CHOICE
Brown wants Britain to become the location of choice for sub-continental companies setting up abroad while several major British firms are seeking a bigger presence there.
Mobile operator Vodafone has its eyes on India's fourth largest carrier Hutchinson Essar, and Britain's biggest retailer Tesco Plc is trying to get a foothold in India's huge domestic market.
In a speech to the Confederation of Indian Industry in Bangalore, the software and outsourcing hub, Brown will say he has come "to witness first hand the astonishing pace of change in India", according to Treasury officials.
After a day visiting hi-tech companies in the southern Indian city, Brown goes on to New Delhi to urge the Indian government for an advance on trade talks and to discuss the costs of climate change and steps to tackle terrorism.
Brown rounds off his trip tomorrow in India's financial capital, Mumbai, to hold discussions with industrialists and promote Britain's financial services industry.
Setting aside his reputation for seriousness, Brown will also visit a film studio. Mumbai is home to India's film industry, known as Bollywood, which makes around 1,000 movies a year and has become increasingly popular in Britain.
