Swinney eyes India trade boost on Delhi visit

First Minister John Swinney said Scotland’s trade mission to India is an opportunity to capture significant new inward investment, speaking as he arrived in Delhi.

The Scottish Government said it welcomed new analysis from the EY Attractiveness Survey 2026, which shows there are significant opportunities for Indian investment in technology, financial services, professional services, clean energy and innovation-led sectors. The analysis cited Scotland’s talent base and world-class universities as key strengths to help attract additional projects from what it described as the world’s sixth biggest economy.

Mr Swinney said Scotland is “uniquely placed” to work with India given its strengths, particularly in technology, financial services and clean energy. He said this year’s EY annual attractiveness survey showed Scotland remains the UK’s top destination for foreign direct investment outside London, and that one in three global companies planning to invest in the UK are now considering Scotland, up from one in four the previous year.

Mr Swinney said foreign direct investment from India has historically been lower, but that there is untapped economic potential, with the Scottish Government’s own independent analysis showing Scotland and India’s trading partnership could be worth more than £3 billion a year by 2030. He said he was in India to help fly the flag for Scottish people, institutions and sectors, making the case for trade and investment to help deliver jobs and growth.

Sue Dawe, EY Scotland Managing Partner, said India has established itself as one of the UK’s most important sources of foreign direct investment, now attracting almost one in every two Indian investment projects coming into Europe, a position she said was unmatched by any other European economy. She said a more targeted approach to high-growth markets such as India could help unlock new investment, jobs and knowledge exchange, adding that there is a strong platform for Scotland to build on.

The Scottish Government said Scotland remains the largest destination for foreign direct investment in the UK outside London and the southeast for the eleventh year, and is the eighth largest destination in Europe, with Edinburgh and Glasgow both in the UK top four. It also noted that of the 108 investment projects secured by Scotland in 2025, only one came from India, in the software sector, despite what it described as strong alignment between Scotland’s strengths and India’s investment priorities.