London:

Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday unveiled a new scheme for the world’s 100 most talented young professionals in artificial intelligence (AI) as part of his vision to make the UK a “beacon” for attract the “brightest and best” from around the world.

Addressing the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual conference in Birmingham, Sunak told an audience of business leaders and professionals that scrutiny of the country’s post-Brexit immigration policy remains crucial.

However, he pledged to create “one of the most attractive visa regimes in the world for entrepreneurs and highly skilled people” and to use the “freedoms of Brexit” to strike trade deals with “the economies to fastest growing in the world”.

The UK is currently negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with India, which Sunak has previously told parliament he wants to complete “as soon as possible”.

“We cannot allow the world’s top AI talent to be lured to America or China,” Sunak said.

“That’s why, building on the AI ​​scholarships and Masters conversion courses I launched as Chancellor, we’re launching a program to identify and attract the world’s top 100 young AI talent. “, did he declare.

He then reiterated his determination to crack down on illegal immigration to the country in order to build trust in the system following Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU) to end the free movement of people within of the economic bloc.

“We have to be honest with ourselves. Part of the reason we ended free labor movement was to rebuild public consent into our immigration system. If we’re going to have a system that gives businesses access to the best and brightest around the world, we need to do more to give the British people confidence and assurance that the system works and is fair.

“It means fighting against illegal migration and that’s what I am determined to do,” Sunak said.

His speech came as the CBI called on the government to allow more immigration to address labor shortages in some sectors of the UK economy, such as hospitality.

“We don’t have the people we need or the productivity,” said CBI chief executive Tony Danker.

Sunak told the conference that harnessing innovation to drive economic growth, embedding innovation in public services and teaching people the skills to become “great innovators” is how he thinks problems can be overcome.

“There is one factor above all else that drives growth, over the past 50 years innovation has been responsible for around half of the UK’s productivity increases. But the rate of increase has slowed considerably since then. the financial crisis. That difference explains our entire productivity gap with the United States,” Sunak said.

“We are absolutely committed to using our Brexit freedoms to create the most innovation-friendly regulatory environment in the world,” he said.

Concluding his first major trade policy speech as Prime Minister, the British Indian leader called innovation a “golden thread” in the UK’s national history.

“The idea of ​​what is yet to be discovered is surely even greater than anything that has come before. I want the UK to be a place of learning, discovery and imagination, of realized potential and “ambition achieved. This is how we will improve the lives of all our people. And as Prime Minister, this is what I will do,” he said.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)