India and Britain to sign deals on aviation, films and oil

India and Britain plan to sign deals to allow more flights between the countries and boost co-operation between their film and oil industries, Prime Minister Tony Blair said today.

Blair told Indian business leaders in New Delhi that trade between the two countries was strong, but there was room for it to grow further and boost prosperity on both sides.

“The energy and vitality that there is has the most enormous possibilities for both our countries,” he said.

Blair said officials would sign agreements to let airlines increase the number of flights they operated between India and Britain and to permit more collaboration between Indian and British film companies and oil and gas businesses.

After addressing the business leaders, Blair flew to Udaipur, in the north-western desert state of Rajasthan, 340 miles south-west of New Delhi, for a summit with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The two had originally planned to meet at Singh’s Himalayan retreat, but bad weather in the mountains forced a last-minute change of venue.

Blair is visiting Britain’s former colony for two days as part of an Asian trip aimed at increasing Europe’s business ties with India and China, two burgeoning economic powers. China was his first stop.

Britain holds the rotating European Union presidency and the prime minister led India-EU talks today.

At those talks, the two sides signed agreements on trade, technology and security cooperation, and India underscored what officials said was a turning point in relations between the two sides by announcing a plan to buy new Airbus planes.

A joint statement released after the summit said India and the EU had pledged to boost anti-terrorism cooperation and crack down on terrorist financing and money laundering.

The leaders said a trade board would be created to promote business between India and Europe, and they agreed to work together to find clean energy sources to fight global warming. The EU also pledged to press for India’s participation in an international nuclear fusion research program.

Britain and India have had good relations and strong business and cultural ties for years, following a rocky period surrounding India’s independence in 1947. There are a million Britons of Indian descent, and travel between the nations is heavy.

While some in the west view India’s rise as a threat, Blair argues it presents a major opportunity for increased trade. He says Europe must embrace, not resist, fast-paced global economic integration and build close relationships with new trading partners.

That’s what he has sought to do on his four-day Asian visit, which he described as “a window into the future”.

Blair was scheduled to fly home to London later today.