India has become an economic and global power that is increasingly shaping debates on technology, trade, climate and security, writes Ben Mellor, Britain's Acting High Commissioner to India, in a personal column published on 18 October. The piece is the view of a serving diplomat who wants the relationship to grow and should be read as advocacy, not neutral reporting.
Mellor first visited India in 1990, aged 18, travelling by train from Bangalore to Delhi. His first diplomatic posting, about seven years later, was in Delhi, and he later served as the Foreign Office's India director. He arrived as Deputy High Commissioner on 1 July 2026 and became acting head of mission, succeeding Lindy Cameron, whom he credits with taking the relationship to new heights.
He calls the free trade agreement, which came into force a couple of weeks after he arrived, genuinely groundbreaking, and says it underpins a shared vision. The two economies complement each other, he argues, and both governments want a deeper partnership covering education, technology, clean energy and security as well as trade. He gives no trade volumes or investment totals.
As evidence of momentum he cites British universities establishing campuses in India, businesses trading and investing more, researchers and entrepreneurs collaborating, and a stream of visits by UK ministers, trade delegations, education leaders and northern mayors. He says he has never been more optimistic about India's future or about the partnership.
