London is open for all: Mayor Khan and his Indian deputy

MUMBAI: One, the son of an immigrant Pakistani bus driver who lived with his parents and seven siblings in a cramped three-bedroom house in south-west London; the other, a boy from Indore who left for the UK 16 years ago with 200 pounds in his pocket. Sadiq Khan (47) and Rajesh Agrawal (40) are two unlikely men from the South Asian subcontinent who beat the odds to become London mayor and deputy mayor.

In Mumbai on Sunday, Khan floored a roomful of business leaders, entrepreneurs and artistes at The World Towers in Lower Parel with his promise: "London sab ke liye khula hai" (London is open for all), his resolve to use his British inflected voice to speak mostly in Hindi, his self-deprecating humour about his height—"Aap log soch rahe hongey yeh TV mein itna bada kaise lagta hai" (you must be wondering how he looks so big on TV)—and his candour about policies that have made it harder for students to pursue jobs after studies or entrepreneurs to invest in the UK. "On one hand, we're saying, 'Please come to London to trade', on the other hand, we're making it harder for students and entrepreneurs to stay on. We're lobbying with the British government to change the rules around visas and entrepreneurial investors," assured Khan, who used to perform stand-up comedy before running for mayor.

On a six-day visit across six cities in the subcontinent—Mumbai, Amritsar, Delhi, Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad—Khan, a member of the Labour Party, is the first mayor of London to lead a trade mission to both India and Pakistan"Mujhe maloom hai ke aap log Brexit ko leke pareshan hai. But 40% of European companies have their headquarters in London and that's why my message is very simple: London is open. Nearly six lakh Londoners have their origins in India and that's why you should be confident about London too," insisted Khan, the first Muslim mayor of a western capital, who faced criticism for condemning US President's Donald Trump's travel curbs even in the wake of London's terror attacks.

Agrawal, who Khan introduced as "Indore ka bachha", emerged as a strong voice of assurance in the face of uncertainties looming around Brexit that London remains the most attractive place to do business. The founder and CEO of Xendpay, a global money transfer service, and RationalFX, an online foreign exchange service, Agrawal arrived in London in 2001 and grew a two-person enterprise into a multi-million pound business based in London with offices in Birmingham, France and Spain.

"I still remember the day I landed at Heathrow airport. I'd never been outside India or even on a flight before. London is a city that is open and gave me the opportunity to help my dream come true," he said, reiterating how businesses were prospering despite fears over the state of the economy following Britain's departure from the EU. "London's underlying assets remain very firm and Indian businesses employ over 50,000 Londoners and they are now the third biggest foreign investors in our city. London will continue to remain a tolerant, cosmopolitan and forward looking city at the heart of Europe."

"This year India celebrated 70 years of independence and the partnership India has with London spans business, technology, education and most importantly Bollywood! That's why we're here to pitch to venture capitalists, network and show that the next phase will be even more productive and prosperous than the last 70 years," said Khan, who, on Monday, will mark the announcement of a major television co-production, meant to be a record investment between UK and Indian television production houses as part of his visit to India to make connections across the cultural and creative industries with 2017 being celebrated as UK-India year of culture. Khan will be meeting tech and business leaders on Monday before heading to Delhi.