The UK-India Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO), which held its meeting here Tuesday night, agreed to start a dialogue on venture capital for SME and to set up a working group on creative industries. It also agreed to hold the first UK-India Investment Summit here possibly in June.

The second JETCO meeting outlined new initiatives aimed at achieving a substantial increase in bilateral trade and investment over the next three years, it was officially stated on Wednesday.

The Indian delegation at the meeting was led by Commerce Minister Kamal Nath while Alan Johnson, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry headed the British side.

"Two new areas of cooperation have been identified -- small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and creative industries, including films and the media," an official release said.

JETCO has agreed to establish a bilateral dialogue on venture capital for SMEs, reflecting the discussions held earlier this month in New Delhi between Kamal Nath and Ian Pearson, it said.

Both sides have also agreed to set up a bilateral working group to enhance links in creative industries. In order to enhance investment, it has been agreed to hold the first UK-India Investment Summit here possibly in June this year, it added.

The agreed statement of the JETCO meeting gave a clear indication of the commitment on both sides to impart new momentum to ties that go back to centuries through greater trade and economic engagement.

Continuing increases in bilateral trade and investment were noted including the high level of Indian Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the UK, even though both trade and investment flows were way below the potential.

The bilateral expert working groups set up under the auspices of JETCO in order to enhance cooperation in key areas of opportunity, namely agribusiness, healthcare, high technology, infrastructure and legal services, have started work and made their recommendations.

The meeting recalled its previous recommendation to set up a mechanism to examine the requirements of non-practice legal advisory services for promoting trade and investment.