A high profile delegation from India is set to visit the north of England to forge new and innovative trade links with businesses across the Northern Powerhouse area.

The delegates are heading to Manchester in February to join the UK Northern Powerhouse International Conference & Exhibition before touring other key northern cities including Newcastle and Leeds.

The group, led by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is made up of medium to large businesses from a range of sectors including health, life sciences, education, pharmaceuticals and chemicals.

The delegation has a footprint across India, includes representatives from Delhi, Mumbai and Punjab and are “hungry to do business” with prospective partners in the North of England.

They will meet local companies looking for international collaboration during the visit, which has been co-ordinated by partners from the UK Northern Powerhouse International Conference, Yorkshire Asian Business Association (YABA), The North West Asian Business Association (NWABA)  and ABC – Asian Business Connections in Newcastle.

The organisations behind the visit will embark on a preparatory mission to India to set the foundations and plan the detailed itinerary ahead of the delegation’s visit to the UK in February.

Building relationships with India is a top priority for Prime Minister Teresa May, who recently led a trade mission to India to reboot the UK’s relationship with the country and forge a stronger strategic partnership between the UK and India.

Ridwan Asmal, Chairman of North West Asian Business Association (NWABA), said: “This trade mission signals the beginning of an important opportunity to create links between India and the North. We are particularly focused on the trade that can be done during the visit and working to secure business by ensuring that the necessary connections are made.”

Martin Venning, director of the UK Northern Powerhouse International Conference and Exhibition, said: “The North`s long standing relationships with India is one of the region`s great untapped assets with huge potential for the future. This is an outstanding opportunity for businesses attending the UK Northern Powerhouse Conference to meet face to face with prospective trade partners from India who are looking to establish links with northern companies from a diverse range of sectors who want greater access to global markets in the post Brexit era.”

The Conference is the biggest cross  sectoral gathering of Northern businesses in the UK, and will be held in Manchester Central on 21 and 22 February and is expected to attract over 3,000 delegates over two days.

Topics being addressed during the conference include manufacturing, transport and infrastructure, finance & delivery, devolution, competitiveness and productivity and energy.