Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to encourage cultural exchange between the UK and India.

Culture features prominently in the India-UK 2030 Roadmap. A key Roadmap deliverable was the recently concluded and hugely successful India-UK Together Season of Culture. This programme saw 51 partners employing nearly two thousand artists, reached an audience of over fourteen million people and welcomed visitors to 21 cities across both countries. This has set the stage for further collaboration and exchange. Furthermore, the Arts and Heritage Minister, Lord Parkinson, recently visited India to attend the G20 culture track and meet his Indian counterparts and key culture sector stakeholders. DCMS (Department of Culture, Media & Sport), the lead UK Department, is committed to facilitating ongoing bilateral collaboration.