Formalising the much-awaited and historic India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and defence cooperation will be high on agenda during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to London, starting Wednesday.
Mr Modi will leave for the UK on Wednesday and on the second leg of his visit, he will undertake a state visit to the Maldives from July 25 to 26.
During his visit to the UK, the prime minister will highlight the issue of cross-border terrorism, Pahalgam terror attack, and India’s response through Operation Sindoor.
Addressing a special briefing by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on the Prime Minister’s visit to the United Kingdom and Maldives, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Tuesday said this would be PM Modi’s fourth visit to the UK.
“This visit, though a short one, will give both leaders the opportunity to review the entire gamut of the bilateral relationship,” Misri said.
He said the visit to the UK is at the invitation of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, while the state visit to the Maldives is at the invitation of President Mohamed Muizzu.
On a media query on the India-UK Free Trade Agreement, Misri said, “There was a conversation on the sixth of May, between the Prime Minister Modi and the Prime Minister of the UK, where an announcement had been made that the two sides had concluded negotiations on Free Trade Agreement and other issues. Since then, the two sides have been in very close touch with each other…We will update you on the final details related to this at the appropriate time.”
The foreign secretary said PM Modi would hold wide-ranging discussions with his counterpart from the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, including on further strengthening of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), during his two-day visit to London, starting Wednesday.
“This will be the Prime Minister’s fourth visit to the United Kingdom since assuming office. He has visited previously in 2015, 2018 and he was there in 2021 for the COP26 Summit in Glasgow. Within the last year itself, Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Starmer have already met twice, first on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro last year and more recently, just last month in June in Kananaskis in Canada on the sidelines of the G7 Summit and they have also been in touch on the phone a number of times,” said Misri.
Besides exchanging views on issues of regional and global importance, Prime Minister Modi and Starmer will review the entire gamut of India-UK bilateral relations with a specific focus on trade and economy, technology and innovation, defence and security, climate, health, education and people-to-people ties.
PM Modi will also call on King Charles III and interact with the business leaders and the Indian community in the United Kingdom.
“Apart from the Summit level engagements, there are regular engagements at the level of the External Affairs Minister and his counterpart, the British Foreign Secretary. There are several other institutional mechanisms at ministerial level, dealing with strategic issues, financial, economic, energy related issues as well as science and technology. In contemporary times, the sectors of business, technology, research, education, innovation, the knowledge economy have emerged as key pillars of our bilateral cooperation. The Technology-Security initiative (TSI) for instance, which is coming up to its one year anniversary, was signed last year and is a major indicator of where we are taking our ties in critical and emerging technologies,” Foreign Secretary Misri said.
On trade ties between India and the UK, the foreign secretary said, “Our bilateral trade crossed USD 55 billion in 2023-24. The UK is also the sixth largest investor in India with an cumulative investment of USD 36 billion and interestingly, India itself is a large source of foreign direct investment in the UK with a cumulative of USD 20 billion. There are close to 1000 Indian companies in the UK that provide employment to nearly 100,000 people and have a cumulative revenue of USD 91 billion.”
Mentioning the defence ties between India and the UK, Misri said, “In the defence sector, we are seeing regular interactions and exercises among all three branches of the armed forces. We have placed military instructors at each other’s military academies and one of the more significant partnership projects we have embarked on in recent times is the agreement to look at electric propulsion capability between the two countries.”
The foreign secretary further said the Serum Institute of India and UK’s Oxford University have agreed to co-develop a malaria vaccine which was approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2023. He also recalled how the two partners had previously developed the Covishield vaccine during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said the University of Southampton has opened a campus in Gurugram under new education policy and several other UK universities are also considering opening campuses in India under the same policy.
The foreign secretary emphasised the role of the Indian diaspora in the UK, which he said has contributed to strengthening bilateral ties and made valuable contributions to the society and economy of the UK.
“One of the most important, probably the foundational aspect of this relationship is the Living Bridge that connects India and the UK, nearly 1.8 million strong Indian diaspora, which has contributed to strengthening bonds of friendship between our two countries but has also made extremely valuable contribution to the UK economy and society,” Misri said.
On PM Modi’s visit to Maldives, the Foreign Secretary said, “The Prime Minister’s visit to Maldives will take place on 25th and 26th July. He will be embarking on a state visit at the invitation of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu of Maldives…The Prime Minister, on this occasion, will be the guest of honour at celebrations to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the independence of the Maldives…This will be Prime Minister’s third visit to Maldives, and the first state visit of a head of government that President Muizzu is hosting since he assumed office in November 2023.”
In the Maldives, the prime minister will also meet Mohamed Muizzu and hold discussions on issues of mutual interest.
The two leaders will also take stock of the progress in the implementation of the India-Maldives Joint Vision for a ‘Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership,’ adopted during the State Visit of the President of Maldives to India in October 2024.
The visit reflects the importance India attaches to its maritime neighbour, Maldives, which continues to hold a special place in India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and Vision MAHASAGAR. The visit will provide an opportunity for both sides to further deepen and strengthen the close bilateral relationship.