Oral Answers to Questions

Flick Drummond Excerpts

Thursday 3rd September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I think we ought to remember that we are dealing with international trade questions. That goes for Members on both sides of the House.

[Mrs Flick Drummond (Meon Valley) (Con)]

I start by expressing my sadness and sympathies over the death of India’s former President, Pranab Mukherjee, earlier this week. India is the world’s second largest importer of arms, but although the UK has a superb defence and security industry, including companies such as Domo Tactical Communications in my constituency, India is not one of our major markets. What more can be done to export to, and strengthen defence ties with, the largest of our Commonwealth allies?

[Mr Jayawardena]

I am sure the whole House will join my hon. Friend in sending sympathies. We are ramping up defence engagement. We supported Britain’s largest ever delegation to the Indian defence expo in February this year, including 160 British business leaders. India increasingly prefers to contract defence and security deals via Government-to-Government frameworks, so we are leading that cross-government work to enable British businesses to do more in the future.