Saturday, September 3 2005 18:49 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: The two-day visit of Tony Blair in his dual capacity as British Prime Minister and European Union President to New Delhi from next Tuesday envisages signing of an air services agreement between India and UK and unveiling of a plan to promote trade and improve economic and scientific cooperation between India and the EU.

Briefing newsmen on the eve of the visit, Alan Johnson, Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry, said a 40-member high profile trade delegation comprising leading entrepreneurs including Karan Bilimoria, chief of Cobra Beers, would accompany Blair during the visit which 'will help extend the very important bilateral relations we already have with India.'

Blair, who leaves for Beijing tomorrow on the first leg of his visit to China, will reach New Delhi on Tuesday evening and devote the entire next day for the sixth India-EU Business Summit.

Blair will have bilateral discussions with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on Thursday.

Johnson said the Air Services Agreement would replace the accord signed between India and the UK in 1951, drastically increasing the scope of air travel between the two countries.

To a query, Johnson said there has been a 23.9 per cent increase in the bilateral trade in the first quarter of this year and according to latest figures it stood at 4.5 billion pounds in 2005.