Modi begins U.K. visit, trade deal to be inked today
During the visit, Mr. Modi and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer are expected to review ties, with the sides discussing technology, investment, climate, defence, trade, and migration. The Prime Minister is also scheduled to meet Britain's monarch, King Charles III.
The Prime Minister's visit is fleeting — less than 24 hours long — with Mr. Modi set to fly to the Maldives on Thursday evening to celebrate the country's 60th anniversary of Independence from Britain and the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between New Delhi and Male.
'During my meeting with Prime Minister Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer, we will have the opportunity to further enhance our economic partnership, aimed at fostering prosperity, growth and jobs creation in both countries. I also look forward to calling on His Majesty King Charles III during the visit,' Mr. Modi said in a pre-departure statement. The so-called 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' with the U.K. had made 'significant progress' in recent years, Mr. Modi said.
The meeting comes exactly a year since the two countries signed a technology cooperation framework — the Technology and Security Initiative (TSI). A new bilateral investment treaty is also currently under discussion and a defence industrial cooperation framework was announced earlier this year.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who is accompanying Mr. Modi on the trip, and his British counterpart, Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, will sign the trade agreement on behalf of the two governments.
However, the impact of the trade deal with India is expected to be about 0.1% of GDP (or £4.8 billion annually) in the long run, for Britain, as per U.K. government estimates. Britain's economy is struggling and that a trade deal was signed is itself significant for Mr. Starmer. The British Prime Minister faces strong political headwinds from the right over immigration, and from his own Labour party, over attempts to cut spending on welfare.
One area Mr. Starmer has been polling ahead of Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is on the issue of who is most prime ministerial, Anand Menon, a political scientist at King's College, London, told The Hindu.
'… Burnishing that brand — one way to do that is to be seen with other world leaders,' he said.
The world is unstable and uncertain for both India and the U.K. and forging closer ties with allies is a way of hedging, according to Mr. Menon. 'For neither side does it mean there's some deep ideological or any other affinity,' he said.
Following his meetings with the Prime Minister and the king, Mr. Modi will fly to Male. 'I look forward to my meetings with President [Mohamed] Muizzu and other political leadership, to advance our joint vision of a Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership, and to strengthen our cooperation for peace, prosperity and stability in the Indian Ocean Region,' Mr. Modi said about the Maldives leg of his trip.
'I am confident that the visit will yield tangible outcomes, benefiting our people and advancing our Neighbourhood First Policy,' he added.
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