Sadiq Khan has landed in Mumbai in a bid to drum up trade for London and to boost cultural ties with India and Pakistan.
The English capital’s mayor was pictured playing football and posing for pictures with Bollywood stars as he visited India as part of his official visit.
His itinerary includes travelling to New Delhi and Amritsar before crossing the border to Pakistan where he will visit Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi.
Ahead of take-off, he insisted that despite Brexit, Britain is open for trade across the world.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan poses for a photograph with young footballers and Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor (left) at the South Mumbai Junior Soccer Challenge in Mumbai, India which encourages young footballers of both sexes to take part in the sport
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan takes a shot at a goal during the South Mumbai Junior Soccer Challenge in Mumbai, left, and walks with Bollywood star Kapoor
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan talking with Queen’s Park Rangers owner, Tony Fernandes at the South Mumbai Junior Soccer Challenge in Mumbai
A woman watches and smiles as Sadiq Khan throws a toe at a ball under the watchful eye of QPR owner Tony Fernandes
One of Khan’s first official engagements was to attend the QPR South Mumbai Junior Soccer Challenge in Mumbai.
Here, he rubbed shoulders with Queens Park Rangers owner Tony Fernandes and Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor.
In an interview with The Hindu, he said the visit was a trip to cement the strong links between the UK and India as well as trying to dispel fears over Britain leaving the EU.
He said: ‘Understandably, many people, including here in India, are concerned about Brexit and what this could mean for how Britain interacts with the rest of the world.
‘My main message on this visit is that despite Brexit, London will always be outward-looking and open to the world.
‘Open to trade, open to investment and open to talent. The vote to leave the European Union shouldn’t be interpreted as London turning our backs on the rest of the world or pulling up the drawbridge.
Sadiq Khan prepares to kick a ball in front of a gathered crowd at the football event in Mumbai
The Mayor of London looks down the camera lens as he meets youngsters at the football fun day put on by Queens Park Rangers, whose owner Tony Fernandes can be seen top left
The decision for Khan to be pictured kicking a football around comes after West Ham’s deal for the London Stadium was fully exposed by a damning report published on Friday that has detailed chronic mismanagement.
Forensic accountants Moore Stephens listed a ‘catalogue of errors’ that had led to an annual ‘bungled’ £20million-plus loss — nearly 10 times the £2.5m a year West Ham are paying in peppercorn rent.
The fallout from the fiasco will see Khan take over control of the stadium and Newham Council withdraw from the E20 partnership with the London Legacy Development Company (LLDC) and City Hall at a loss of £40m.
Khan commissioned the review, which namechecked former London Mayor Boris Johnson for not responding to interview requests and London 2012 chairman Lord Coe for declining to help, when the cost of transforming the athletics venue to a football ground rose from an unrealistic £190m to £323m.
The installation of retractable seating had been costed at £50,000 yet the price was £10m. Khan said: ‘What has been presented is simply staggering. It reveals a bungled decision-making process that has the previous Mayor’s fingerprints all over it.’
Khan laid into Johnson, now Foreign Secretary, and blamed him for the sky-rocketing transformation costs due to the retractable seating and the vanity project of staging Rugby World Cup games.
The decision for Khan to be pictured kicking a football around comes after West Ham’s deal for the London Stadium was fully exposed by a damning report published on Friday that has detailed chronic mismanagement
Tony Fernandes talks in hushed tones to the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan on his trip to India
In his interview with the Hindu, Khan drew comparisons between London and the big Indian cities, citing that one in three people living in the capital were born outside the UK and that 300 different languages are spoken on the street.
He added: ‘London will always be a city full of opportunity and one that embraces people of different, nationalities, faiths and backgrounds.
‘Whether it’s a love of Bollywood or Biryani, cricket or Kabaddi, I know the relationship between London and the great cities of India goes beyond simply economic interests and encompasses our culture, our values and our way of life too.
‘This is what makes our relationship so special and I’m looking forward to a very productive trip, learning from each other and meeting as many people possible.’