UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy travelled to New Delhi over the weekend to further advance the ambitious UK-India relationship during talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar, alongside government officials.
The visit follows the historic Free Trade Agreement (FTA) agreed between the two countries and will deliver on this government’s commitment to boost jobs and prosperity. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) says the new deal with India is expected to increase bilateral trade by over £25 billion every year, UK GDP by £4.8 billion, and wages by £2.2 billion each year in the long run.
Lammy said: “India was one of my first visits as Foreign Secretary, and since then has been a key partner in the delivery of our Plan for Change. Our relationship has gone from strength to strength – securing our future technologies, adding over £25bn in trade every year between our countries and deepening the strong links between our cultures and people.
“Signing a free trade agreement is just the start of our ambitions - we’re building a modern partnership with India for a new global era. We want to go even further to foster an even closer relationship and cooperate when it comes to delivering growth, fostering innovative technology, tackling the climate crisis and delivering our migration priorities, and providing greater security for our people.”
The Foreign Secretary met with leading figures in Indian business to discuss how we can unlock even greater investment by Indian business in the UK. In 2023-24, India was the UK’s second largest source of investments in terms of number of projects for the fifth consecutive year.
The Foreign Secretary also welcomed progress in our migration partnership, including ongoing work on safeguarding citizens and securing borders in both countries.
Talks also took stock of progress, following a commitment by the UK and Indian Prime Ministers to take forward an ambitious UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The trade deal is a key example of the progress being made since the last meeting between Lammy and Jaishankar, the FCDO noted.
It follows the signing of the UK-India Programme of Cultural Cooperation Agreement in May and £400 million of trade and investment wins boosting the British and the Indian economy at the Economic and Financial Dialogue in April.
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The Foreign Secretary also addressed the recent escalation in tensions following the Pahalgam terrorist attack and how the welcomed sustained period of peace can be best supported in the interests of stability in the region.
Lammy had travelled to India on his first official visit as Foreign Secretary in July last year, when he announced the landmark UK-India Technology Security Initiative. The UK government claims the initiative is delivering crucial collaboration on telecoms security and unlocking investment across emerging technologies – telecoms, critical minerals, AI, quantum, health/bio tech, advanced materials and semiconductors.
Last month, the UK and India signed a new UK-India Programme of Cultural Cooperation to boost collaboration across the arts and culture, creative industries, tourism and sport sectors. The agreement is expected to open the door for increased UK creative exports to India and enable more partnerships between UK and Indian museums and cultural institutions, helping to grow UK soft power.
It came as both sides agreed the historic FTA, which slashed tariffs across a range of sectors to boost two-way flows of trade.
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