British businessmen courted their counterparts in the emerging economic powerhouse of India yesterday as Prime Minister Tony Blair set off for talks on terrorism and trade with Indian leaders at a fabled lake palace.

Britain is the third largest investor in India but business executives say the much can be done to deepen the trade relationship. British beermakers, top representatives from mobile phone companies, banks and airlines accompanied Blair at a UK-India summit in New Delhi on the last day of a whistle-stop Asian tour that also took in China.

Blair, who as holder of the EU’s rotating presidency chaired an EU-India summit on Wednesday, has called on India to further open up its markets to foreign goods, banks and service providers. But he has also sent a stern message to protectionist leaders in Europe who think trade barriers can spare them from competition from India.

“If Europe does not open up, if it thinks its future lies in protectionism, then it will lose in the end,” Blair told reporters late on Wednesday. India’s economy, the third largest in Asia, is set to grow at a robust 7 percent in the fiscal year ending March 2006. Indian Trade Minister Kamal Nath complained on Wednesday that the EU’s actions against Indian products the bloc claims are sold under market value or “dumped” were a major concern for New Delhi.

Following meetings with business leaders, Blair was joining Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for talks at a dramatic location in the city of Udaipur in western India.