David Cameron will stress the importance of India to the UK's future prosperity as he kicks off his latest foreign adventure.
The Tory leader is to say the global economy's "centre of gravity" is shifting south-east towards the sub-continent and China as he opens a JCB factory in Pune.
Mr Cameron will also insist British business is perfectly placed to take advantage of changes because of "family ties" from the shared history with India.
He will say: "The links between our two economies are deep. India is now the third largest investor in the UK. Five hundred Indian companies are now based in London, and more are opening all the time.
"We are linked by the Commonwealth in which India is not just the most populous member, but also has the largest economy after Britain.
"But our relationship goes much deeper than that. Our two countries are related - family ties connect us. Just as we have cousins across the Atlantic, so we have cousins here in India."
The four-day trip to India follows hot on the heels of the Conservative leader's visit to South Africa, where he met Nelson Mandela.
Meanwhile, shadow chancellor George Osborne grabbed headlines last week by enthusing about new magnetic trains on a visit to Japan and suggesting they could be used in the UK.
Labour have accused Mr Cameron of only opening the £15M JCB factory, located just east of Mumbai, to drum up funding for the party. The Bamford family, who own the firm, have historically been major donors to the Conservatives.
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During the trip Mr Cameron will also be making a keynote speech on the global economy, visiting IT and social projects, and viewing the Gandhi Memorial. He will be accompanied for some of the time by Mr Osborne.
