* PM Cameron defends overseas trade missions
* Government says budget will boost business
(Recasts after speech)
By Keith Weir
CARDIFF, March 6 (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron said on Sunday he would press ahead with efforts to sell British goods and services abroad and promised the most pro-growth budget in a generation.
Cameron has faced criticism for a trip to the Gulf last month on which he was joined by executives from defence companies and other businesses. Critics said efforts to boost arms sales were crass at a time of uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa.
"While there are contracts to be won, jobs to be created; markets to be defended - I will be there," Cameron told a meeting of his Conservative Party.
"If it's making sure Rolls-Royce engines are in the world's planes, I'll be there," added the former public relations executive. "If it's making sure skyscrapers in the Gulf are designed by British architects, I'll be there."
Britain is looking to bolster overseas business to help cushion it from the effects of sharp cuts in public spending. Cameron, who took office last May, has already made high-profile trips to India and China with trade missions in tow.
The Conservative-led coalition plans to reduce government spending by around 19 percent across most departments as it seeks to virtually eliminate a record budget deficit over the next four years.
The coalition government is seeking to shift the debate from cuts on to measures to promote growth in its March 23 budget.
"The budget in a few weeks' time will tear down the barriers to enterprise and be the most pro-growth budget this country has seen for a generation," Cameron said, vowing to tackle red tape and bureaucratic "enemies of enterprise."
Cameron said the government would stick to its tough medicine despite a faltering economy.
"The road ahead will be hard; this year in particular," he said. "But the plan is right."
"Our credit rating has been confirmed. Market interest rates are lower. We're on course to balance the books by the end of this parliament," he added.
The opposition Labour Party says the government is cutting too much, too fast and risks plunging the country back into recession as the brakes go on.
The economic debate has intensified after the economy shrank by 0.6 percent in the last three months of 2010, while inflation is running at 4 percent, double the official target.
Soaring oil prices have made life tougher for British families. Finance minister George Osborne gave his strongest signal yet on Saturday he will postpone a planned rise in fuel duty to counter soaring petrol prices.
Cameron said he would be watching banks "like a hawk" to ensure they honour a commitment to lend an additional 10 billion pounds ($16.28 billion) to small companies. ($1=.6142 Pound) (Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)