Prime Minister Narendra Modi emplaned for a crucial visit to the United Kingdom, with the formal signing of the landmark India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) expected to be the centrepiece of his two-day trip.
PM Modi will hold wide-ranging talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and is also scheduled to meet King Charles III during his July 23ā24 stay. Starmer is set to host him at Chequers, the British prime ministerās official country residence near London.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is likely to sign the free trade agreement alongside his UK counterpart Jonathan Reynolds and the two prime ministers, capping three years of hard bargaining. Britain sees the deal as its biggest trade win since Brexit and hopes it will inject fresh momentum into defence, research and tech partnerships with India.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri confirmed that “last-minute work” was underway to seal the deal, which is set to benefit nearly 99 per cent of India’s exports by removing tariffs and will help British firms export products like whisky and cars more easily to India.
In 2023ā24, bilateral trade between the two countries crossed USD 55 billion. The UK is India’s sixth largest investor with USD 36 billion invested so far, while nearly 1,000 Indian companies in Britain employ around 1,00,000 people. Indian investments in the UK stand at close to USD 20 billion.
Beyond trade, defence and high-tech collaboration will be on the table. Both India and the United Kingdom have stepped up joint military exchanges and are exploring electric propulsion systems together. A recent milestone has been the University of Southampton opening a campus in Gurugram, the first under India’s revamped education policy ā with more UK institutions looking to follow.
“In the defence sector, we are seeing regular interactions and exercises amongst all three branches of the armed forces. We have placed military instructors at each other’s military academies,” Vikram Misri said.
Meanwhile, the British authorities are learnt to have ramped up security measures to prevent any disruption by pro-Khalistan groups during the visit. Security agencies have reportedly been sensitised to New Delhiās concerns, with special instructions to avert protests or breaches.
Both India and the UK are keen to avoid a repeat of the March incident when a pro-Khalistan protester managed to breach security and approach external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s vehicle during his London stopover.
From Britain, PM Modi will travel to the Maldives where he will grace the island nation’s Independence Day celebrations as “guest of honour”. During his July 25-26 trip to the Maldives, the Prime Minister will hold extensive talks with President Mohamed Muizzu and inaugurate a number of India-assisted development projects in the island nation.