Business leaders in Birmingham have called for calm over the attacks in Mumbai saying that economic links with the country will remain strong.
Dr Arun Bajaj, chairman of the Institute of Asian Businesses, who has business links in India, said that although the attacks were a blow to the country, its size and resilience would mean that most firms would carry on as normal.
“Yes, this is a terrible attack,” he said, “And obviously our thoughts go out to everyone who has been affected there.
“But what you have to take into account is that India is an extremely large country. People tend to think that Mumbai is the be all and end all of business in India, but really it is just a part of a much bigger picture.”
Dr Bajaj, who also owns the radio station XL, added: “The Institute of Asian Business has spent a lot of time establishing relationships between India and Britain and as a result has spent a lot of time in India.
“Our hope is that this is an isolated incident. I’m sure that within a very short time India will have recovered and it will be business as normal.”
John Lamb, from the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which carry out trade missions to Mumbai and India and Pakistan, said they would be monitoring the situation.
“Clearly this is going to have an impact all round and we are hoping that the situation calms down,” he said. “The next mission to Mumbai we are planning is in February but obviously we will be taking advice from the British High Commissioner in India.’’
