* TMs visit to Africa..And doing this in competition with China who are already funding massive infrastructure projects.*
A friend I'm with at the moment does charity work in Africa and says evidence of links the Chinese have and their investment are everywhere.
I find the countries TM has prioritised fascinating. Outside Europe it's:
▪ One visit to Bahrain, India, Iraq, Japan, and Turkey
▪ Two visits to Canada, China, Jordan,Saudi Arabia,
▪ Three visits to the United States
And now Africa. I wonder who else will raise the same issues about hostility that India has done.
Lord Bilimoria of Cobra beers wrote, “The government’s hostile stance on immigration makes it unwilling to make positive steps towards seizing the chance to forge closer ties with India.
“Indian business and tourist visitors pay visa fees four times higher for a two-year multiple-entry visa than the Chinese. Any hopes of closer UK-India ties, including a free trade agreement (FTA), rest on a huge shift in our government’s immigration policy.
“FTAs are not just about tariffs and duties, they are about movement of people too: entrepreneurs, skilled workers, and students. We must remove international students from net migration calculations and reinstate the two-year post-study work visa for international graduates of UK universities. But this looks unlikely."
www.politico.eu/article/india-no-rush-to-do-bilateral-trade-deal-with-post-brexit-britain-commonwealth-eu-customs-union-external-tariffs/
www.relocatemagazine.com/news/immigration-enterprise-visa-rules-biggest-block-to-uk-india-trade-deal-dsapsted