Chairman of the Indo-British Partnership Network (IBPN) Lord Karan Bilimoria said in an interview with the Times of India that although “reduced to a great extent,” the biggest bottleneck to further bilateral trade is “Red tapism.” Established in 1993, the IBPN “momentum stalled” but has “begun to gain steam” as the bilateral trade grew 60% from £5 billion to nearly £8 billion from 2002 to 2005.

IBPN’s “mission is to help increase trade, business and investment” between the two nations and has set up “a strong, high-level board and an inclusive, wide-ranging membership organization of over 600 companies and individuals.”

The IBPN facilitated the largest delegation to India of 150 business leaders along with Prime Minister in waiting Gordon Brown.