Cole urged the state government and various industrial lobbies to ensure the industrialisation bid was back on track.
But he added that British business delegations kept visiting the state despite controversies over land acquisition for industrial projects.
While three business delegation came to the state in 2005, the number rose to 11 last year, Cole said.
Most of the British companies interested in pumping in money in the state are small and medium enterprises (SMEs). They do not require large tracts of land, he said.
'So it should not be difficult to have strategic alliance with West Bengal in the SME sector. We are talking to various chambers to change this perception.'