A regional delegation led by North East Mayor Kim McGuinness has successfully completed North East England’s first trade mission to India.
Delivered as part of The Great North Mission to India, the seven-day visit was the UK's first joint mayoral-led mission to the country and the first major regional response to the UK-India Free Trade Agreement.
The North East delegation, which included representatives from the business community, academia, sport and tourism, took part in a packed programme of events and exhibitions, business roundtables, launch events and summits. Spanning four major cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru - the trade mission led by the Mayor was focused on forming new partnerships, delivering new investment, and creating a stronger platform for future growth between North East England and India.
Mayor Kim, said: “When we set out on this inaugural trade mission to India, I promised we would deliver jobs, investment and support for our small businesses to increase trade links with India.
“In just seven days, we’ve set the groundwork for an entirely new relationship between the North East and India - one that delivers investment, growth opportunities for businesses, builds new innovation and research partnerships, and creates jobs and prosperity.
“This mission has opened the doors for international trade, we have created new partnerships between universities and innovators, and we’ve invited the people of India to discover our amazing region.
“We have seen first-hand the scale of the opportunity in India and now is the time to grasp it. We have the talent, we have the skills, and we have the ambition. We are the region to drive forward the UK’s new economic partnership with India.”
Key events, announcements and activity during The Great North Mission to India included:
- North of England Mission Launch
Mayor Kim, Chair of The Great North, launched the trade mission in New Delhi on behalf of seven Northern Mayors and Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds. Her message to Indian businesses and investors was simple: the North is open for business, ambitious for our future and ready to build lasting partnerships.
- Premier League football gives tourism a boost
The Mayor joined a Premier League NEXTGEN Coach Programme event in Mumbai to promote Premier League football in the North East. 144 million people watch the Premier League in India, including matches from Newcastle United and Sunderland A.F.C. The North East’s footballing heritage and passion for the game is helping attract more Indian visitors to the region, boosting our tourism sector and making the North East one of the best places to visit in the UK.
- VisitBritain North Event: an invitation to discover North East England
Putting a spotlight on North East England's visitor economy, two events aimed at attracting more visitors to the region took place in New Delhi and Mumbai. Mayor Kim opened the events, which saw representatives from the North East’s tourism industry promote the region to 150 top Indian tour operators and more than 250 representatives from travel trade media.
India is forecast to become a £1.5 billion inbound visitor market for the UK by 2030, an increase of 71% from 2026. The UK is also expected to be the second most visited destination in Europe by Indian inbound travellers in 2026.
Both events showcased North East England as a world-class visitor destination, inviting people in India to experience the region's culture and heritage, outstanding natural beauty, endless award-winning coastlines and vibrant towns and cities.
- Low Carbon Materials: creating new supply chains in India
In Mumbai, Mayor Kim joined pioneering and County Durham-based innovative clean energy company Low Carbon Materials to help establish a new green supply chain in India.
The Mayor met with fast-growing Indian startup Ground Up, which was founded by two former Durham University graduates. Ground Up turns crop waste into biochar - a charcoal-like material that locks carbon away for hundreds of years. Biochar is a raw material used by Low Carbon Materials to produce its carbon-negative concrete additive, ACLA.
The Mayor discussed the North East’s thriving clean energy cluster, learned more about Ground Up’s biochar plants, and explored a new supply partnership with Low Carbon Materials.
Durham University spinout Low Carbon Materials reduces carbon emissions in the construction industry by reimagining how materials are made. The company recently secured funding through government's Local Innovation Partnerships Fund (LIPF). Its CEO and cofounder, Natasha Boulding, is also a graduate of Durham University.
- CPI partnership with Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council
During The Great North Mission to India, Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), also based in County Durham, signed a Letter of Intent with India's Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council to establish a strategic UK-India Biomanufacturing Partnership.
The new partnership will strengthen collaboration between the two nations with ambitious plans to accelerate biotechnology innovation, scale-up and commercialisation.
It is the latest step in a campaign to deepen UK-India collaboration in critical and emerging technologies, supporting ambitions set out under the UK-India Technology Security Initiative.
- Strengthening academic, research and innovation relationships
Durham University and Newcastle University joined the Northern university delegation, engaging with Indian institutions and partners to explore opportunities for future collaboration. Durham University deepened its research links with India, building on a strategic partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras).
- ISS India: a bridge between the North East and India
In Bengaluru, Mayor Kim attended the opening of ISS India, a new international trade centre that works in partnership with the ISS Airview based at Newcastle Airport to help North East, UK and Indian businesses establish, trade and grow in both markets.
Acting as a bridge between both countries, ISS India provides a soft-landing programme for Indian businesses entering the North East and UK, and a launch pad for North East and UK businesses expanding into India.
- Sage supports tech talent
During The Great North Mission to India, global business solutions and software company Sage, headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, announced it is deepening digital ties between the North East and India with the recruitment of 128 new graduates and apprentices.
Newcastle will welcome 83 new recruits and 45 positions will be created in Bengaluru, India, reflecting the countries’ growing digital relationship. Sage’s new talent intake also demonstrates the opportunity for businesses to develop talent, exchange knowledge and create pathways into technology careers across both markets.
The announcement came as Mayor Kim visited Sage’s building in Bengaluru to see first-hand how the company’s cross-country working is creating new opportunities for international trade, knowledge sharing and AI investment and adoption.
In addition to the above, the wider North East delegation of local businesses, which included Newcastle and Durham Universities, Durham Cricket, and innovative businesses Power Roll, InvernireX and Lunaris Medical, attended many more meetings, events and roundtables across the week-long trade mission.
The momentum generated by the delegation’s visit is being harnessed into long-term benefits for the North East region, with more to follow in the coming months.