India's Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee meets UK Minister George Osborne

Last month journalists had quite a day with the Indian finance minister and his delegation to the UK.

On the 25th of July 2011, there was a morning press conference in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with the two gentleman, their heights in inverse proportion to their numbers of years in government, when they expressed deep satisfaction with trade relations between their two countries.

They proudly stated that India is now the third largest investor in the UK, and the UK is the fourth largest investor in India.

They announced that billions of dollars' worth of trade deals had been signed, and pointed to a recent BP/Reliance deal which represented the single largest foreign investment ever in India.

They both sidestepped my question to them about which country had greater need for the other, replying that each had a healthy respect and need for the other, refusing to be drawn on the precise balance of power.

The press conference finished before 12.0pm. Some of the Indian journalists were going to wait around for another briefing with Mukherjee at India House, the Indian High Commission, at 5.0pm that day. One of them said, "It's going to be a very long lunch."